Quick author's note:

Ahhh! This is my very first Violet Evergarden work, so please, please, please go easy on me. I really, really tried to be true to the characters as they are in the anime series and movies. I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoyed writing it!

Also, I think this goes without saying, if you haven't watched Violet Evergarden: The Movie, please go watch it. Uh... spoiler alert, I guess.


In those moments after Violet's arrival, the first thing she noticed was the thin haze that seemed to blanket the air and blanketed her.

It was foreign, and it was new, and she appreciated the warm mist as it settled on her clothes. This was her new home. She was going to build a life here, a good one, hopefully, with the Major, no, Gilbert, and this was the first step. She took a deep breath and exited the ship, her heels clicking against the wood in an oddly familiar way. She tried to store it away in her mind, in her heart… this was possibly the last time she'd ever hear it again. She clutched her suitcase tightly, the joints of her hands squealing imperceptibly as she looked up. He was looking at her silently, as if seeing a ghost, and then he approached her, slowly, before pulling her into a tight hug, a hug full of promise, thanks, and regret.

She did not cry. Not this time.

Instead, she closed her eyes and squeezed him back, her belongings falling to the sand. Maybe she should have done it this way the first time… there were too many tears that day. Her tears, his tears, even the heavens had wept for them. They stood like that for what seemed like forever, and then she pulled away from him, his image already swimming before her. She took a deep breath and gave him the tiniest smile.

He was still the same as the day he'd "died", he was still caring and open-hearted and accepting. He was worn and felt more… weary than those days, but he was still the Major. He was still Gilbert. "Hello, Maj- I mean, Gilbert," she managed, at last, tripping over her words. "I'm- this is…" she sighed in an attempt to compose herself. "Thank you," she said finally, "for letting me stay with you."

"No," he replied softly, his quiet voice louder than the crash of the waves behind them. "Thank you for coming back."

"It's my pleasure," she told him. "'I will travel anywhere to meet your request'- that's what I used to say as an Auto Memory Doll. I... I guess it's still the same, even now," she said, wiping her eyes and swallowing down her tears. She picked up her suitcase and parasol and asked, "Can we go, Majo- I mean, Gilbert?" He gave her a little smile at her flub. "Yes, let's go. I'll show you my home… the proper way, this time." A swell of pain threatened to swallow her, but she squeezed the handle of her suitcase instead and said, "Thank you again."

"And again, I say, thank you, Violet." Nothing more needed to be said. They walked towards the main road in comfortable silence, their shoes crunching against the rocks as he told her about the deep grooves in the dirt, and she listened with rapt attention, trying to remember all of his words, trying to store them in her soul for future reference.

So this was love. How he could devour her attention, how nothing else seemed to matter when compared to him, when he'd uttered those words...

She let out a tiny laugh, and he paused his explanation to ask, "What?"

She looked up at him. "I've made an important realization. It's strange though, because... I think I've always known."

Another thing she was learning to love was the look of silent understanding he gave her, a single, definite assuring nod that made her know that he knew. She pulled her eyes away from his and he said, "Let's keep going. We still have a ways to go."

She nodded. "Yes, Gilbert." His name, his real name sounded strange and alien on her tongue, but she would learn. This was the beginning of a new journey, and many possibilities were laid out before her here. She had him back. She could do what she loved. It was really quite perfect. He must have noticed her smile because he asked, "What's. ..?"

She looked up at him. "We finally have a chance. And..." She reached out and touched his hand with her gloved one. "I'm expectant. Of what the future might bring." He cracked a smile, a small, hesitant, unsure one. "Maybe," was all he said, and they continued on.


Stay tuned for a few more parts!