A/N: The new chapter of "We Three Hearts" is now available!

July 8th 2020

Chapter 190
Their Escape to Home

Maya woke with the sun. The curtains had been left open so that she might, so that the light would go and bring them around, that they might enjoy the most of this last morning. Sometimes she did not do well with hotel beds, but this one had suited her very well, suited them both. They'd slept well, always. And for all that, in that moment she was certain they would sleep infinitely better tonight, back in their own bed. It still didn't feel real that, by the end of the day, there would be an ocean between them and this place.

Slipping free of her husband's arms, she'd scooped up Lucas' university hoodie from the back of the couch and pulled it on. She practically swam in it, especially in the arms, and that was fine by her. It had his scent, it warmed her.

Opening the balcony door with caution, she'd stepped out, tugging at the hem of the hoodie to ensure it covered her. The first of this last day's pictures became a panoramic view of the city in the morning, one last look taken like the last morsel meant to hold her until the next time she'd be so lucky as to see this part of the world.

"Hey…" Lucas spoke quietly as he came to stand with her, wrapping his arms around her midsection as she leaned to him.

"We should start packing now," she told him. "It's too early for breakfast anyway, it'll be done."

"Sure, okay," he agreed, looking to the city below and all around, as she did. "Tonight, you and me, in the Hex… Will you show me how to play your song for the stars?" he asked, the twang of his French feeling less comical now and just as it should be.

"Only if you sing it with me. We record it, just for us. The Friars, year one."

"New tradition?" he asked, thinking of more songs, year to year, her and him… little voices…

"New tradition," she turned in his arms, and she kissed him, smile meeting smile. They would be in love wherever they were in the world, but this was their last chance to be in this moment where they felt as though they floated all the time, and it was like she said, if they got through with packing now, every last minute afterward, until they left for the airport, would be theirs to enjoy.

The packing had made them realize how much the two of them had settled into this room since they'd arrived two weeks before. Sure, the housekeeping service had been through here several times, and they weren't by any means messy, but one way or another they had become settled in their ways as this had been their home away from home. Now it felt like they were moving.

"Does this feel too dressed up for flying home?" Maya asked, holding up a sundress. "Never actually wore it the whole time, and I was sure I'd dreamt having packed it, but it just fell behind the suitcase and I never saw it until now."

"We are flying first class," Lucas reminded her.

"Good point," Maya smiled. "Travel outfit, check. That'll make the whole 'look, new tattoo' thing easy enough," she added with a nod before turning to him. "And what are you wearing?" she asked, waving the dress about.

"Gotta get up to your level, yeah?"

"I mean…" Maya shrugged, essentially telling him that she wouldn't insist, but…

"Right," Lucas laughed, looking through his options before pulling out a shirt and pants. "Did I wear these?" he frowned to himself. Maya turned back.

"Museum, round one," she informed him. "Good choice," she smiled.

"Check," Lucas set these aside, and they carried on. When they'd turned to look at each other, both of them having reached the point where it seemed that they were done, they nodded at once: they needed to double check. "I'll take the bathroom," he told her.

"I should check the couch," she nodded again, as they crossed one another and went after their chosen targets.

Double checks and triple checks had assured them there was nothing left. So they showered in turn and got ready for the day, finally heading down for a well-earned breakfast.

"You know how Trix, and Lou, and Archer just keep following us whenever we've been gone most of the day?" Lucas asked as they ate, and Maya made a whimpering sort of laugh as she chewed, covering her mouth with her hand for a moment until she could speak.

"Joke's on them, we'll be so happy to see them, we'll just carry them around with us wherever we go for the next month."

"The plan is to make them want us to just leave again?" Lucas laughed.

"Possibly…"

"I am learning so much about you," he teased, and she hid her smirk in her coffee.

Their flight home wasn't until mid-afternoon. Having talked it over as they had breakfast, they finally made their way up to their room in order to get all their bags out of there and down into the lobby so they could check out. They'd head to their airport, where they would deal with whatever they weren't keeping as carry-ons and then just hang about near the airport until it was time to head in for boarding.

"Okay, having the tiniest flare up of emotions right now," Maya breathed, slipping the poster tube's strap over her shoulder along with her backpack.

"Think of the other side," Lucas told her. "Your brothers and sisters, your parents…"

"Can't they come here instead?" Maya turned an almost pitiful look to him.

"I think you know," he told her. He might have entertained the possibility, as a joke, but it would just have been counterproductive in the end.

"Alright, alright," she finally sighed, leading the way as they exited their room, rolling their suitcases off to the elevator.

After they'd officially checked out – and after taking one last look at and a picture in front of the sculpture in the lobby, they got into a taxi which took them to the airport. The whole way, they were both spending a fair amount of time looking out the windows, getting a last look of their surroundings. No, not a last look, or at least not a last ever look. They would be back, it was already decided, and they were promise keepers, both of them.

"Only a few more to go," Maya noted, as she'd taken out her log and printer and got their latest shots printed and stuck to the pages of day fourteen, the last day. They'd used their last spare yesterday, and they'd taken three already since they'd woken up, which brought their current total to ninety-six, four to goal. "What is 100 going to be?"

"Both of us, hugging our dogs?" Lucas guessed, which made her laugh. "Both of us crying about hugging our dogs," he amended after a moment, and he'd as good as finished her off. "So, I think that, seeing as we're going to be boarding in a little while I can tell you why you haven't been approached by anyone all week."

"What do you mean?" Maya asked, not following.

"The fans of the band," he specified, and she still didn't understand. "The others, they said that once you were 'off the grid' they would put out a message, asking that if anyone saw you in the next couple of weeks – without specifying where you would be – they should let you be, because you were going to be on your honeymoon. They weren't sure it would work, but looks like it did." Maya wasn't surprised that they would do something like this, more like touched, although she didn't see the lack of contact as being indicative of this request. "Oh, it was," Lucas promised.

"How do you know?" Maya raised a brow.

"Just because you didn't see them, doesn't mean I didn't," he proudly revealed, chin up. "When you'd look the other way, I'd give them a sort of…" He gave silent thanks. "Why do you think those girls never came over to our table that one morning? The only reason you saw them is because Talia spotted them and said something." Maya sat back, taking all this in with an awed smile. She'd have to do something about it once they got home.

Finally, the call went out that their flight was going to board, and Maya and Lucas were once again led to their Diana Zvolensky upgraded first class seats. They really tried not to think about the time zones, and what time it would be or what time it would feel like. They could have landed in the middle of the night and they would have been wide awake.

"As soon as we take off, all we'll want to do is land again, won't we?" Maya wondered as they settled in.

"I think we might have it in us to enjoy all of this for a while first," Lucas suggested. Maya couldn't deny that. "Want to watch a movie?"

"Couldn't focus on it," Maya shrugged. After thinking it over, she smiled. "You know, I'm not sure we ever said what weird stuff we found, when we split off at the reception." This got Lucas chuckling.

"You want to know now?" he asked, and she actively nodded. "I'm not even sure I remember anymore," he pointed out.

"I'm sure you do," she challenged. "But if you need to think it over, I can tell you about mine."

The plane took off from France as the newlyweds dove back into memories of the party following their wedding. As predicted, Lucas did remember, once Maya had gotten them started. After they'd run out of stories, the mood had changed regarding movies, and so they picked something, giving one last nod to their trip by slipping on the French dubbing. They were very familiar with the fact that this tended to be a solid hit or miss, but they did not mind. They could have found the most ridiculous translation and interpretation and it would have reminded them of their trip, which would have left them happy.

They landed in Texas after dinner, which they had on the plane. As eager as they were to see their people, and as eager as their people were to see them, they had asked not to be met at the airport, so they could have the rest of this day to themselves. Whether a part of them had gotten to the point where it wouldn't have minded breaking that choice, well…

"It's weird, isn't it?" Lucas told Maya as they got into the taxi they'd called, for the ride home. "I don't know any of these people, but I know they're from here and…" he gestured around them, and she actually knew what he meant. They all just felt familiar by association.

After two weeks out of the country, finding themselves driving through their hometown felt a particular kind of surreal that could only come up after a trip. And the closer they got to their home… The prediction earlier had been correct. The notion that they had started this day in Paris felt so, so strange…

Welcome home! Once I saw that your flight had landed I left to go crash at Ramona's for the night. Enjoy your first night back, text me in the morning? – Rosa

The note waited for them, sticking out of the mailbox. Maya had gone back and fetched it while Lucas and the driver got their bags out of the car. Once the man was gone, the couple looked up to their house.

"I don't think I've been this emotional about being here since…"

"The night you proposed to me?"

"Exactly."

With a smile, Lucas looked to his wife, and the notion that he would pick her up barely had time to exist before it was made to happen.

"We already did this after the wedding," Maya laughed.

"Yeah, but I am doing it again anyway," he replied.

"Fine, just don't trip over the dogs," she told him. They could already hear barking and scratching from the other side of the door; they knew.

The reunion went about as they had predicted it would, with hugs and tears all around. It wasn't just their three, of course, as Rosa's Peanut was also here. But then the dog had been one of theirs long ago, and he had not forgotten.

So focused as they were on the dogs, it didn't take long for them to feel some of the shock of being home had worn off. They were here, they had their pups, they had each other… Rosa had taken good care of the place while she'd been their house sitter, as far as they could see, and they trusted that this would extend to the rest of the house. Now that the house sitting gig was over, of course, she wasn't off their hands yet. Now she was to be their roommate, for a little while, unless this had changed in the time they had been away. They weren't checking messages, e-mails, none of it, not tonight. Tonight, they were still on 'honeymoon mode.' They mostly were.

There was one piece of mail on the kitchen table, and maybe for it being addressed from Atlanta, Rosa might have figured it was something important, not to be relegated to the 'open at your own leisure' mail pile. It had been written a few days back. The short message, in Caleb's familiar handwriting, let them know that they had landed back safely, and they that he and Talia had spent their flight home taking a deep dive into TXNY's back catalog, which had been a blast.

With the dogs trailing on their heels, Maya and Lucas went upstairs, almost like they needed to walk into their room to properly feel like they were back. Maya indulged herself with a happy fall back to the bed, which could not possibly have felt more… new and familiar all at once.

"Pillow…" she hummed, yanking her pillow from the head of the bed and hugging it like it might have been one more pup. Lucas sat at her side and she rolled about until she could look at him. "Hey, there."

"Happy to be home?" he laughed, lying back on to his side.

"There are absolutely no words. Mostly, I don't know what time it is anymore, except I want to sleep so bad…"

"I think it's the bed…"

"It would make sense," Maya smiled, kicking off her sandals. "I won't wake up and find out it's all been a dream, will I?"

"Did any part of the last two weeks feel unreal?" Lucas challenged.

"A lot of it and none of it," she beamed. He kissed her lightly.

"Then I think we're in the clear, Mrs. Friar."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners