A/N: This is the last chapter, folks. It's really more of an epilogue of sorts, similar to the one given in the actual series.
10 Years Later
Yukari wakes up with a start, clutching the bed sheet to her chest like a security blanket. What an awful dream she had been having. Instead of following her lovers to Paris and modeling George's clothes until his designs rapidly rose to fame, she had clung to her second-rate modeling career in Japan, allowing George and Isabella to struggle desperately to create a name for themselves without a face to bring their creations to life.
The results were not tragic in the typical sense of the word. Although working separately made the process take years and years longer, their individual brilliance could not be stifled, and they each did make a name for themselves. The tragedy was in the loss of what might have been. They only scraped by when they should have outshone all others. They only survived when they should have thrived. Together, they were more than the sum of their parts. They were never meant to go on separately. That was the tragedy…trying to live full lives with only part of a soul.
To an outsider, the Yukari of the dream might seem perfectly happy. She had had a moderately successful modeling career; she was engaged to her high school sweetheart, and they had romantic plans to visit America for their honeymoon. But the happiness was a lie. In truth, she was nothing but an aging model who had given up true greatness for fear of taking that last step outside her comfort zone even after she had come so far. Now she was living a safe life with a safe fiancé, and the only time she truly shined was when she put on one of the dresses left for her by her dear George and remembered what could have been.
Tears stream down Yukari's face as she thinks of how horrible it would be to have lived the life of her dream…no…of her nightmare. Staring down at the sleeping figures of her two lovers, she lets the warmth of their presence soothe her frazzled nerves. Glancing at her ring finger, a small smile flits across her face. She does not don some store-bought, factory-manufactured piece of metal and stone that is supposed to pass as a token of everlasting love. She still wears the first ring George ever made for her, the delicate butterfly spun out of bead and string. It is the only one of its kind, and she loves it desperately despite the fact that George could make her something just as beautiful and much less fragile, should she ask.
She wears it whenever she can, as a testament to their love. No, it is not an engagement ring. Yukari has decided never to marry, because marriage would mean that she had to choose between George and Isabella, and she could never let one of them feel cut out like that. She wears the ring because George made it for her, and she wears the matching necklace because Isabella had crafted it herself, finishing it with love even though they had not been able to use it in that high school fashion show from so long ago. They teased her about it, saying that she didn't need to wear their jewelry to prove she loves them, but she adores the ring and necklace all the same.
With a sigh, Yukari looks at the clock. It's 6:00 a.m., and she really should try to get a few more hours of sleep. After all, today is the day they would "conquer America," as George would say. Years ago, they had stepped onto the American scene when George had designed the costumes for the entire cast of a Broadway musical, but that was nothing compared to this. Today, for the first time ever, they would be showing George's clothing on the same runway as some of the most well known models and designers in the United States. In twenty-four hours time, they would truly have gained world-wide renown.
Snuggling back in between George and Isabella, Yukari forces herself to relax, willing the unsettling images from her dream out of her mind as she thinks of how she will proudly be displaying George's most brilliant creations later on that day.
After all, how could some dream compare to this?
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this story and didn't find it too confusing. I actually struggled with deciding on how to refer to Isabella (as a "he" or a "she"). But it really seems to me that she is more than just a cross-dresser. Her character seemed more like someone who is transgender, so even though her body is male, I decided to still refer to her with feminine pronouns. I hope that made sense to people!