Cairo sits on a red hospital chair, rubbing her eyes. The sun was just beginning to rise, but so much had happened already. She was previously in her room sleep. Her father had called Tea frantically to come over and watch Cairo while he went out to look for Mana. And then came another phone call saying that Mana was in the hospital, fighting for her life after nearly drowning.
Tea, Yugi and Atem stood at a further distance from Cairo so that she could not overhear their conversation. Atem had his back turned from his daughter so that she could not see how distraught he looked. "I should have gotten there sooner," he kept saying as Yugi and Tea tried to talk him down.
"It's not your fault," Yugi says, placing his hands on his older brother's shoulders.
"Yeah. This is all due to creepy old Arcana," Tea says, clenching her fist at her chest. "And you said he got away again?" Atem could only nod.
"He has got to be stopped," says Yugi, narrowing his eyes before glancing back at his niece. "And we should probably keep a closer eye on Cairo too. From the sounds of it, he has his eyes on her too."
"I need to tell her…" Atem says, his heart beating quickly as he feels anxiety overcome him. "I wish it could be under better circumstances, but she deserves to know…"
Tea lowers her eyes, thinking about her best friend and the bond that started to grow between her and Cairo. It would be a shame for Cairo to finally find out who her mother is and for Mana not to make it. She quickly shakes the thought out of her head. No. Mana was strong. She would totally pull through. She had to. Tea and Yugi watch as Atem slowly approaches her daughter and he crouches down to her.
He grabs both of her hands and looks into those amethyst eyes that matched his own. The only difference is that she had a puzzled look on her face and he was in distress with small bags starting to form under his eyes.
He takes a deep breath and squeezes her tiny hands slightly. "Cairo. There's something…I need to tell you. And this may not be easy or come as a shock to you…"
"What is it?" she asks. "Have you been crying? Is Mana okay?"
Atem closes his eyes and bows his head, gritting his teeth. This was one of the hardest things he's had to do. How would she react? Would she hate him? Would she resent him? So many what ifs went through his head. But he is brought out of his thoughts when Cairo suddenly gives him a hug. She could sense that her father was in a great deal of pain and distress. He always was. And she wanted nothing more than her father to be okay and more importantly to be happy.
"It's okay dad," she reassures him. "I can take it. I'm strong. Just like you." A few tears drop from his eyes and he wraps his arms around her tiny body, burying his face into her shoulder. He gives himself a few moments to get himself together before pulling away, looking directly in her eyes.
"Remember when I said your mother disappeared years ago and we never found her?" he begins, and she nods. "Well…that was only partially true."
"What do you mean?"
"Your mother was found. But…she unfortunately lost all of her memories after an attack. When that happened, she had no memories of me or you."
"You mean…like Mana?" Cairo asks.
"Cairo…Mana is your mother."
Cairo's mouth drops and her eyes go big when he finally reveals the entire truth. She stares forward as her mind starts to race. Atem slides his hands up her arms until they rest on her shoulders, not knowing how she would react. He looks at her, as if trying to search for a reaction in her eyes, but he found nothing.
"Cairo?" he gives her a light nudge, snapping her out of her state of shock.
"Mana's my…my mom?" she repeats and Atem nods.
"I'm so sorry for waiting so long to tell you," he apologizes. "Please…forgive me." He bows his head remorsefully.
Cairo felt so many emotions. For so long, her father acted as if her mother didn't exist. Whenever she would ask, he always kept it vague and never went into much detail. It had went on for so long, that Cairo didn't think that she would ever see her mom. But in this moment, she felt a sense of relief and fear. Relief that she finally knows who her mom is and it so happens to be a woman in which she created a huge bond with. And fear because of the current state she was in. It just didn't seem fair to finally know who her mother is and it's a possibility that she may not make it.
"Please tell me she'll pull through," Cairo says.
Atem didn't know how to answer that question. He couldn't say for certain. He looked into his daughter's eyes that were practically begging him to reassure her that everything would be okay. Mana was in pretty bad shape. But Mana was also strong. There's no way she would go out like that. He shakes any remaining negative thoughts, looking at Cairo with a newfound confidence.
"Yes. Everything will be okay," he says finally and she embraces him in a hug.
'Mana. Your daughter is counting on you. I'm counting on you. Please…don't die on me.'
As she sunk deeper and deeper into a black abyss, her body started to go numb, feeling her life slowly fading away. Was this really the end? She never even got the chance to fully recover her memories. Who would defeat Arcana now? Was there possibly another magician that could defeat him? And to think that old lady put so much faith in her. It was unfortunate. But her life wasn't the best anyway. She had no one to live for. Maybe her mind could finally be put at ease from all of the racing thoughts over the past few years. She felt herself moving closely to the light. Her death was imminent. She closed her eyes, waiting for death to finally consume her.
Good bye everyone.
"Don't die on me Mana!" came a familiar voice.
Mana's body stops, just as she is about to hit the light and she is left at a standstill. "Atem…" she murmurs, her eyes still closed. There was that voice again. The voice that would always help her during her darkest and scariest times. "Atem, is that you?"
"MANA WAKE UP!" the voice shouts and her eyes shoot open as her life begins to flash before her eyes.
Flashback 1
A teenaged Mana bangs on the inner door of her locker after being thrown in there by a group of girls that would bully her on a daily basis. "Please! Somebody let me out!" she yells with tears in her eyes. But on the other side there was nothing but silence. She was sure no one would hear her after the school bell rang, signaling the start of a new class period. She drops her head, pressing it up against the cool door. Would anybody help her?
She gasps when the door finally opens and she flies forward, crashing onto the floor. "Ouch." She rubs her head and shutters.
"Are you alright?" asks a teenaged boy with tri-colored hair. She slowly looks up to see a boy wearing the school uniform that consisted of blue dress pants, a matching blue jacket and a button up shirt. He looks down at her with one of his hands in his pockets. He uses his free hand to help her to her feet.
"Th-thank you…"
"Atem," he answers with a warm smile. "What's your name?"
"Mana," she replies, rubbing the back of her head with a nervous smile as she looks down at the floor. "Thanks for helping me."
"Don't worry about it. I hate to see anyone get mistreated because they're different." Mana smiles and her eyes scroll up to the clock that hung in the hallway and her eyes widen in horror at the realization that she will be late to class.
"Aw man! I'll get detention for sure!" she whines, clenching her hair. She quickly grabs her book out her locker and she slams door. "I've gotta go. Thanks again, Atem!" She runs away with a wave as he tilts his head to side.
"What an interesting girl…"
Flashback 2
"I'm not doing it and you can't make me," Atem says as Yugi and Tea both push him to the front door of Mana's house as he held flowers in one of his hands.
"Come on, you can do it Atem," Tea encourages.
"Yeah, just go up there and ask! The worst thing she can say is no," Yugi chimes in and Atem's face drops.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
They all reach the front door and Yugi quickly rings the door before he and Tea make a run for it.
"Now, hold on!" Atem protests, but he quickly turns around when he hears the doorknob turning and the door opening, revealing Mana. She wore a pair of shorts with a long graphic t-shirt, looking really relaxed in her home after a long day.
"Oh hey, Atem. What are you doing here?" she asks.
"Well I uh…"
She looks to the flowers that he is clenching in his hand and she giggles. "Are those for me?"
"Hm?" he asks, slightly confused before realizing what she is referring to. "Ah yes!" His hand trembles as he gives the flowers to Mana. He was usually not the one to get all flustered, but for some reason, trying to ask Mana to be his girlfriend had made him extremely nervous. She was beautiful, from her personality to her physical appearance. Every guy in the school wanted her and she turned them down one by one. What made him different from all of the other guys?
Mana takes a whiff of the flowers and smiles happily. "They're beautiful. Thanks Atem."
"No problem! Say…Mana, we've been friends for quite some time and I was wondering…if…if…"
"If?" Mana looks at him questionably as he tries to find the words. But he looked extremely nervous. Mana lets out a small chuckle before edging forward, tilting her head to the side to land a kiss on his lips. Atem's eyes widen with surprise. He was getting kissed by who he thought, was the most beautiful girl in the school. He couldn't believe this was happening. If this was a dream, he didn't want to be woken out of it. He closes his eyes and kisses back until they are both out of air.
"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend," Mana says, hopping in his arms and Atem blushes madly as Tea and Yugi look on from a distance with a grin.
Flashback 3
Mana giggles when Atem wraps his arms around her as they lie in bed together. The sun shined brightly in their hotel room and their bodies laid tangled in the white bedsheets. She lifts her hand up to her eye level, revealing a shiny diamond ring on her left ring finger.
"I love you, Mana," Atem says, nuzzling his nose into the side of her neck. "I'm so lucky to now have you as my wife."
"And I'm so lucky to have you as my husband," she responds and he lifts his head up to meet her lips in a passionate kiss. He caresses her back and she places a hand on her chest, rolling on top of him and straddling his waist with a mischievous smile and Atem returns the look. "Round two?" Atem smirks, bring the sheets over them as they make love once more after finally saying "I do."
Flashback 4
Mana quickly sits up, feeling a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. She swings her legs to the side and stands up slowly. Her large belly really made it hard to move sometimes. She quietly wobbles her way to the bathroom as Atem slept and looks at her self in the mirror. She wore a large t-shirt that acted as a nightgown. Sleep didn't come so easy, especially since she was nine months.
She feels something moist trickling down her leg and she slowly looks down, seeing that her water broke. That would totally explain all the mild contractions she had been feeling lately. Another sharp pain shoots through her body that takes her breath away. Closing her eyes, she starts to focus on her breathing and clearing her mind of any negative thoughts. This is all apart of the process, she thought. She leans against the sink and takes a few deep breaths.
"Atem," she says in between breaths.
He groans and rolls over. "Yes," he replies sheepishly.
"Baby's coming." She starts to sit on the floor. The pain was becoming more intense. But she managed to keep her cool.
"Are you for certain this time? We've been to the hospital three times already and they were all false alarms."
She leans back on the wall, feeling a great urge to push. When Atem doesn't receive a response, he hops out of bed and quickly walks to the bathroom and he gasps. "We need to get in the car and go. Now."
Mana shakes her head. "Can't move. She's coming." Atem sweat drops. She was incredibly calm, despite all of the pain that she was in. He quickly runs to grab his phone to call an ambulance. Having his baby in the bathroom of their house was something he totally did not expect. After calling, he rushes back to the bathroom and what he sees nearly makes him faint.
"Is that…?"
"The head…" Mana breathes out and she takes another deep breath before pushing again. Atem quickly kneels down as Mana continues to push until the baby is fully out and in his arms. She breathes a sigh of relief when the baby starts crying and Atem wraps her in a towel.
"She's beautiful, Mana," Atem says, looking down at his newborn daughter in awe before sitting beside Mana to show her as they wait on the ambulance to come.
"Cairo…" Mana leans her head on her husbands shoulder with a weak smile.
End Flashback
Mana's eyes shoot open and she spits up some water, gasping for air and coughing. She looks around. Somehow the mask that was once prohibiting her from using her powers was gone and she had made it out of the lake alive. She lay in a hospital room, underneath white bedsheets and hooked to a few machines that kept her hydrated and and a mask to keep oxygen flowing. As her eyes lowered, she noticed she was covered in cuts and bruises, but that was minor compared to what could've happened. Her eyes go further down and she noticed a certain someone with his head down at her bedside.
How long had she been lying there, she asked herself. She looks out the window and it is night time. Then the thoughts started to flow. She looks down at Atem and she smiles, placing her hand on his head and starting to caress his spiky tri-colored hair.
'Somehow, some way, you've done it once again. I'm so lucky…to have you as my husband,' she thought to herself, thinking about how Atem was able to save her once again not only physically, but within her mind.
It's always been said that when you're at a near death experience, there is a feeling in which your life flashes before your eyes. In that moment where Mana thought it was to be her final moments, countless memories flooded her brain all at once, from the day she first met Atem to the day she gave birth to her daughter and much more.
Atem grunts and slowly lifts his head to see Mana looking at him. But something was much different about her.
"Evening!" she greets with a wave and a smile and his eyes widen. Her voice sounded more cheerful, her demeanor had did a full 360 and she seemed like the cheerful, carefree Mana that he remembered. When she lost her memory, all of that seemed to be nonexistent.
"M-Mana?" He slowly stands up, approaching her with caution, wanting to confirm if his suspicions were correct before jumping to conclusions.
Meanwhile, at Atem's house, Tea had taken Cairo home after a long day. She decided it would be best for Atem to stay by Mana's side in case she woke up. She laid on the couch, scrolling through her phone as Cairo slept in her bedroom upstairs. The doorbell rings out of nowhere and she tilts her head. It was mighty late for someone to be ringing the doorbell at this hour.
"Who is it?" she asks as she approaches the door, but there is no answer. She turns the doorknob and opens the door and she gasps in horror. "You!"
"Where is the girl?" Arcana asks, trying to step in the house. Tea tries to slam the door on him, but to no avail. He catches it and pushes it back, causing her to fall. "Don't worry, I'll fetch her myself."
"No! Leave her alone!" Tea yells, running up behind him to try and stop him. With a slight wave of his hand, she gets thrown back and hits the wall, falling unconscious to the sounds of Cairo's screaming.
Mana looks at Atem with a beaming smile and she giggles at his hesitation. "Atem! Stop acting so weird!" she exclaims with a giggle and his eyes begin to water.
"Mana…is that…really you?" he asks, reaching his hand out to her, before drawing it back, not knowing for sure. A few tears trickle down his cheek. The suspense was killing him. She holds out her hands, continuing to smile at him and he lets out a sob, collapsing in her arms, not being able to contain his emotions anymore.
"I'm back…" Mana says in a whisper as she embraces him. "Thank you for not giving up on me."
He pulls back, looking into her eyes and she cups his cheek. After so long, it had finally happened. His wife had her memories back and he couldn't be happier and more relieved. He cups her cheek as well, letting the tears fall freely and Mana blushes.
"Stop crying, Atem. You're gonna make me cry too," she says as he brings her in for a passionate kiss. To think the last time they were in the hospital, it was when he had first learned that she lost her memories. And now here they were once again with her memories being fully restored. They pull away, gasping for air and Mana wipes away his tears.
"But how?" Atem asks.
"A near death experience will do that to ya," Mana replies with a shrug.
"I'm so glad I have you back," Atem says he kisses her once again.
"Where is Cairo?"
"She's back home. Tea is watching her. I can't wait for all of us to be home as a family again."
"I hope she doesn't hate me for being absent too long," Mana says, her head lowering, but Atem lifts it back up.
"It wasn't your fault. This was all Arcana's doing and he needs to be stopped once and for all. He's going to pay for what he's done to my family."
Mana narrows her eyes. "Where is he now?"
Before Atem could answer, his phone rings. He looks at the caller ID to see that Tea is calling him. "Hello, Tea."
"Atem, I'm sorry," she says hysterically over the phone. "I couldn't stop him."
"Tea, what's wrong? What happened?"
"Arcana…He took Cairo!"
"WHAT?"
"What is it?" Mana asks as Atem hangs up the phone.
"Arcana's got Cairo," he responds heading to the door. "I swear if he harms her, I will make him pay dearly."
"Hold on. I'm coming too."
"No Mana," Atem says, turning his head. "You need to rest."
Mana folds her arms with a pout. "She's my daughter too ya know."
"Mana, no. I can't risk losing you again." He turns back to leave, but his body won't budge. Instead, he felt himself sliding backwards as Mana used her magic to stop him in his tracks and put him right back at her bedside. "Mana, don't do this," he says between gritted teeth, not being able to move his body. Mana releases her hold on him and looks at him more seriously.
"This is my fight as well," she says and he looks away.
"He's tried to tear our family apart before and now he's trying to do it again! He's mine!" Atem yells, growing more furious the more he thinks about it.
"And he caused me to lose my memory and miss out on so many years of my daughter's life…and yours. He's also wiped out so many magicians over the years. So again…this is my fight as well. And this time, he won't get away. We will save Cairo and we will defeat him. Together."
Cairo screams as she is being held up by chains. She tries her hardest to release herself, but it seems that Arcana has cast a magical spell on the chains, preventing her from using her magic. He grins as he stands in front of her, outstretching his hand. "If I can't have Mana's power, then yours will do."
Atem and Mana rush to the tent with Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl by their sides. At the entrance stood Lumis and Umbra, standing protectively in front of the entrance to the tent so that no one may enter. Lumis lifts a card up in his hand, releasing the Mask of the Accursed and it starts to fly toward Mana.
"Oh no you don't!" Atem quickly steps in front of Mana and charges at Lumis, landing a heavy punch to his face and snatching the card and tearing it, causing the mask to disappear. Before Umbra could pull out his card, Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician both pull out their wands and simultaneously attack them.
"Double Dark Magic Attack!" they both yell as the two magician blast the two henchmen away.
Arcana, hearing all of the commotion, quickly begins to suck away Cairo's power. He knew he didn't have much time before Atem and Mana reached him. Cairo cries out as she felt the life being sucked away from her.
A blast coming from the entrance shoots toward Arcana and he quickly uses a force field to block the attack.
"Let her go, Arcana!" Atem yells, walking in with his Dark Magician by his side.
"Or what?" Arcana asks with a grin and his body begins to glow. "I can already feel her power going through my veins. And I won't let you interfere! Dark Magician, come forth!" he yells and a nearly identical Dark Magician appears in front of Atem's. The only difference was that Arcana's Dark Magician wore red clothing and had grey hair and a menacing stare.
"I'm going to make you wish you never crossed me…" Atem says, giving Arcana a death stare before turning his sights to the evil Dark Magician hovering in front of him. "Dark Magician, attack!"
As they engage in a battle, Mana takes this time to try and free Cairo during Arcana's time of distraction. Cairo slowly opens her eyes and lifts her head. "M-Mommy…?"
Mana smiles. "Don't worry. I'm here," Mana says as she begins to chant a spell to counter Arcana's.
Cairo coughs and smiles weakly. "Are we going to be a family again?"
"Yes. I promise," Mana assures her. She feels a magical blast coming at her and she quickly whips around, using her free hand to block it.
"Her power is mine!" Arcana yells.
"Your fight is with ME!" Atem shouts, charging at Arcana and landing a punch, keeping him away from the girls. As the two Dark Magicians battle each other, Arcana and Atem engage in hand to hand combat, with Atem having the upper hand. Arcana shoots a blast at him and Atem dodges with ease, landing a kick in his stomach and then an uppercut, causing blood to gush from Arcana's mouth.
"Almost there…" Mana says, continuing to focus on Cairo's chains.
"NO!" Arcana yells as his body begins to emit a red glow, growing enraged. "I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED SO EASILY!" He lets a huge battle cry, causing an enormous amount of force to blow Atem and Mana back. As he approaches Cairo yet again, Mana glances over at her Dark Magician Girl and she stands protectively in front of her and Cairo, pointing her pink and blue wand at Arcana. Mana quickly gets up, starting to continue her efforts of freeing Cairo.
"Dark Magician!" Arcana calls out. "Take her down!" His evil Dark Magician flies at the Dark Magician Girl, aiming his wand at her and starts shooting multiple attacks. Cairo and Mana both grit their teeth as the attacks approach, but they never made contact. Instead, Atem's Dark Magician had stepped in between them, taking on the attacks head on.
"Atem!" Mana yells, as Atem doubles over, feeling the pain from the attack his magician just took on. Arcana's magician attacks once again and this time, he hits the Dark Magician Girl, causing Mana to fall to her knees.
"I will stop at nothing to get what I want!" Arcana outstretches his hands out to both Mana and Cairo, attempting to take both of their power at the same time. They both scream as Arcana laughs, feeling the power surge through his body. Getting both of their powers would make him even stronger than he would have ever imagined. He prayed for the day that he would become the strongest magician alive and that moment has finally come.
Mana grits her teeth, trying to fight through the pain. She digs deep inside herself to find her inner strength so that she could put a stop to Arcana's terror once and for all. She struggles to stand, but manages to do so to Arcana's surprise. But he continues to laugh at her efforts as she slowly approaches him.
"Give up! Soon, all of your power will be mine! Just let it happen!"
Mana grins and points her wand at him. "I beg to differ…Spell binding circle!"
"NO!" he yells, as his attempts at sucking their power away is halted and he is unable to move. She quickly uses this time to release Cairo, knowing that he wouldn't be stuck forever. Just a few more seconds and she would be free.
Arcana lets out a large cry, freeing himself from Mana's spell and ordering his red Dark Magician to aim another attack, but not before Atem calls his Dark Magician to aim back and both of the attacks clash, fighting for dominance. Dark Magician Girl flies beside her partner and shoots her attack alongside him. Even with the two of them against Arcana's magician, they still struggled. Arcana had already taken nice chunk of Cairo and a bit of Mana's power, causing his monster to grow stronger.
"Give up! It's over!"
"Never…" Atem says, holding onto his arm, watching as the three magicians duke it out.
"Come on…" Mana pleads and she finally is able to free Cairo.
"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE! YOUR POWER SHALL BE MINE!" he aims his hand at Cairo and Mana and shoots a powerful blast as Atem watches helplessly from the other side of the tent. His Dark Magician was still busy hashing it out with Arcana's and there was nothing he could do to stop the attack.
"MANA! CAIRO!" He watches as the attack makes contact and he shields his eyes from the blinding light that follows. When he finally uncovers them, he gasps, seeing the Magician of Black Chaos standing there, shielding them both from Arcana's attack.
Arcana's eyes widen with shock. "What the—? But how were you still able to summon him while still being low on power?!"
Cairo stands beside her mother, her eyes glowing purple as she silently motions for her magician to attack Arcana's Dark Magician, blowing the red magician back as it collides with its master. Atem joins Mana and Cairo at their side as all three of their magicians stand together.
"We're not gonna live in fear anymore," Cairo says, narrowing her eyes.
"It's time to finish you off, once and for all," Mana continues.
"Be gone!" Atems finishes, and all three of their magicians attack Arcana and his magician at once, as he screams, being disintegrated by the power of their attacks and he is finally no more. The three magicians look at each other, nodding before disappearing.
Cairo takes a deep breath before falling back into Mana's arms, feeling exhausted. Mana looks down at her, amazed at all the power that Cairo was holding deep with her. At Cairo's age, even Mana wasn't at her level. But she couldn't help but feel proud. Atem crouches down alongside them and Mana lifts her eyes to look at him with a smile and he returns the look.
"Is it finally over?" Cairo asks and they both look down at her.
"Yes, Cairo," Mana answers, brushing a strand of hair away from her daughter's face.
Cairo smiles with relief before saying, "I can't believe you were my mom this whole time."
"Yeah, I know right?"
"It wasn't very obvious though. We definitely don't look alike," Cairo says and Mana dims her eyes.
"Yeah, you definitely have your father's big purple eyes," Mana jokes back and Cairo and Atem both dim their eyes with a groan.
"And on that note, let's go home," Atem says and he lifts Cairo into his arms as they exit the tent to start over, finally begin their lives together as a family and living in a world where magicians will no longer live in fear.
YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO
Atem rolls over in bed the next morning, sighing happily as he wraps his arms around Mana's waist. It had been so long since he had woken up beside her. He had forgotten how amazing it felt. For so long, he had to sleep alone, not knowing if he would ever have this feeling or moment again. After so many years, he finally had his family.. It wasn't an easy journey to say the least.
Mana stirs in her sleep before opening her eyes, feeling Atem's eyes on her.
"Good morning!" Mana says with a bright smile. She was always very cheerful in the mornings. Atem felt such an immense amount of happiness that all he could do was capture her lips in a kiss. Mana smiles within the kiss, kissing him back and cupping his cheek. They stayed like that for awhile until they had to come up for air.
"I love you," he says.
"I love you too, Atem," she answers back.
"Me too!" Cairo exclaims suddenly from behind Mana, removing the covers from over her face, causing the two parents to nearly jump out of their skin, not expecting her to be in the bed with them.
"C-Cairo. When did you get here?" Atem asks, sweat dropping down his temple.
"For as long as you two have been getting all lovey dovey," she says, standing up on the bed and beginning to mimic their kissing and they both blush madly.
"Cairo, cut it out! We do not kiss like that!" Mana whines, growing more red by the second, but Cairo continues.
"I love you too," Cairo says, copying Mana's voice.
"Get over here!" Mana dives at Cairo who jumps with ease and runs out of the room and Mana chases after her. "You can forget about me teaching you any more magic tricks!"
"No way! You promised!"
Atem rolls over to his back, placing his hands behind his head as he listens to the chaos. It was louder than his typical morning. But he had no complaints. He had his whole family back under one roof again. He smiles to himself.
And if his mornings were going to be like that from here on out, then he wouldn't have it any other way.
Author's note: So that's the end. Can't believe I started this story almost a decade ago and I'm FINALLY finished. I think I may have one or two more fanfics up my sleeve before I finally "retire." Thank you to everyone who has followed this story! See you next time!