you were just the same

waiting for the day

to fall into my life one summer morning

a sudden gust of wind

from nowhere, we begin

it's like I dreamed you up while I was sleeping

I searched forever through the blue

I spent the hours of my youth

and just when I thought I was through

I found you

~ I Found You - Imaginary Future & Kina Grannis ~

Epilogue Four: One Year Later - Basic Truth

"Wally."

Nothing.

"Wally."

Nothing.

"Waaaallyyyyy!"

Still nothing.

Kuki repressed a giggle as she stared down at the mop of blonde hair resting against her midriff. Wally was one hell of a napper. During the last year, there had been many things to learn about him, many of which surprised her, but among the most unexpected was the fact that he actually turned out to be rather affectionate. The boy was a nuzzler, as she liked to call it. If they were standing idly and he happened to be behind her, he'd nuzzle his face into her hair. And if he happened to be in front of her or beside her, he'd always end up nuzzling his face into her neck. And if they were snuggling, just as they currently were on his living room couch, sure enough his face would always end up nuzzled somewhere.

Today it was her midriff, and nuzzle away he did.

"WALLY!"

Finally, a response - a groan worthy of a mummy in a 1940's horror movie, and it reverberated against her rib.

"Wally, how long are you planning to stay like this? There's an entire world out there waiting to be explored."

She waited for him to respond, but he resorted to acting like a dead corpse once again.

"Wally, I'm getting hungry. Plus we have to leave soon if we want to get to the movie on time."

Still no response.

"WALLY!"

Another groan, and this time he went as far as to lift his head slightly. She waited to see what he would say, only to be disappointed when he merely turned his head the other way and plopped back down.

"WALLY!" she chided amidst her laughter. She would have been more annoyed had she not detected the smile in the corner of his lips. Plus she could feel him laughing. "That's it, Wally. I'm putting my foot down."

He groaned lazily.

"You can groan all you want, but if you don't get up, I'm going to leave you here and watch the movie all by myself."

Nothing.

"That, or maybe I just won't stop talking."

Still nothing.

"I can be really annoying, you know."

This time, he spoke. "...I know..."

She smiled and waited to see what he would do, and when he remained still, she decided to unload her best weapon.

"Oh remember when I last told you about my top ten favorite Rainbow Monkeys? I've updated the list since then. Let's see - number ten is still Sooper Sumo Smackdown Rainbow Monkey, and number nine is a tie between… Oh wait, I think Tea Party Tickles Rainbow Monkey took tenth place, which makes number nine a tie between…"

Her words were lost in her own laughter when Wally rose like a dead zombie, groaning without opening his eyes, and started kissing her. It was sweet, but she wasn't falling for his tactics.

"You-can't-shut-me-up!" she said playfully between kisses, and he dropped back down in defeat and nuzzled his face into her neck this time. She gifted him with a few minutes of peace before she spoke again. "Alright, Wally. This is the last straw. You have two minutes."

For a second, it appeared as if he would be stubbornly unresponsive again, but then he spoke. Or more like, he bartered. "Ten."

"Three."

"...Eight."

"Five."

"...Six."

"Nope. Five, and that's my final offer, sleepyhead."

He groaned. "Fine."

She smiled and started playing with his hair, gently running her fingers through the blonde strands. He said nothing, but she saw his lips twitch slightly in satisfaction. A few minutes passed, then he spoke.

"Kuki…"

"Absolutely not, Wally. We said five minutes, and that's it."

"Kuki…"

"I said no."

"Kuki…"

"I said -"

Kuki stopped. Wally had lifted his head to look directly at her, and the look in his eyes instantly made the smile on her face dissipate. They looked...serious. But not in a bad way. It was a cross between sincere and tender, and though it wasn't the first time she'd seen that look in his eyes, its current proximity completely took her by surprise.

"What's wrong?" she asked, suddenly alarmed.

Wally reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Then he said:

"I love you, Kuki."

Kuki gazed back, speechless, then her face twitched as if to laugh, only for her to immediately realize that she had nothing to laugh about. In fact, she didn't know what to think, and before she knew it, her mind had whipped into a frenzy of thoughts. Was it a joke? Is he serious? Is this a big deal? Or is it not a big deal? Is she overthinking? What should she do? Should she say it back? Could she say it back? Is it okay to force yourself to say it back? Is it normal to take this long to say it back?

"Time's up," Wally said.

Kuki's expression went from frozen surprise to slight panic. "What?!"

Wally's eyes were still soft and weighty, but his lips stretched gently into a smile. "Five minutes, remember? Time's up. We need to go."

How they ended up from his couch to a few blocks down the street was a mystery to Kuki. Time and space had pretty much blurred together ever since he said those words, and as they walked towards town, she staggered behind him, staring quietly at the back of his head. He didn't seem to mind. He merely walked quietly with his arm reaching back, holding her hand.

Her eyes fell towards the ground.

I love you, Kuki.

He had said it so easily. Sincerely, but easily. How did he do it?

"Stop stressing out about it."

Kuki looked up and found him looking back at her. "What?"

"I said stop stressing out about it."

"I'm not stressing out about anything."

"Yes you are."

"How do you know?"

He smiled. "I can read your mind these days."

He turned back to the road ahead of them, and a few seconds passed before he spoke again. "You're overthinking it. It's not a big deal, so stop stressing out about it."

Kuki frowned. "I'm not stressing out about it. It's just that… I don't understand how you could say it so easily."

"What, that I love you?"

His words struck her like a thunderbolt, and it hit her so hard that she stopped dead in her tracks, threw her arms up, and whacked him on his back. It made a funny, padded sound, and it baffled him so much that he stopped, turned to look at her, then laughed. He always found it funny how completely incapable she was of hurting anything, no matter how angry or frustrated she was.

"It's not funny!" she cried. "You can't just go around saying that!"

Wally crossed his arms and leaned against a stone fence nearby. "Why not?"

"Because…"

Kuki looked away from him and started fiddling with her hair. It was a good question: Why not?

Her frustration abated slightly, and she turned back to look at him. She'd never seen him so calm as she did now. "Why is it so easy for you to say?"

Wally thought for a moment. "Because it's true. It's not hard to tell the truth."

Kuki's frown deepened. If that was the case, then why couldn't she say it back?

Wally reached out and pulled her towards him, and she fell into a hug that was casual, and tight, and protective, and comforting all at once. His hug. And though her insides were still buzzing from all the questions bouncing around her head, she relaxed enough to rest her head against his collarbone.

It's not hard to tell the truth.

His words echoed in her head. There were lots of truths about the two of them. They've liked each other since they were kids. They fought each other as much as they laughed together. They were polar opposites, yet they always gravitated towards each other. They were also young, and clueless, and silly, and yet they both knew at their core that they belonged together - that they've always belonged together. All these things were basic truths. So why couldn't she say it back?

"Stop stressing out about it," he chided gently as if he had read her mind again, then he planted a kiss on top of her head. It was yet another truth: he was never gentle with anything, yet he was always gentle with her.

Kuki sighed within his arms. She wanted to argue more. She wanted to ask questions, or make an attempt to say it back. She wanted to do something. Anything. But his arms were comforting - comforting enough that she couldn't argue - so she did the only thing she could. She closed her eyes and rested against him, allowing him to hold her tighter, and ultimately allowing the truth to linger between them without needing to be said out loud.