The fourth time Tahani drinks antimatter, she's holding Eleanor close.

"I came as quickly as I could." Tahani rushed through the household, arms flung wide and ready to embrace her much shorter, blonde friend. "How are you doing, darling?"

Tahani stopped short when she saw that her best friend rested on the couch, her eyes glued onto the glossy cover of a—

The former heiress leaned over the couch and found her mouth gaping wide. "Is that Chidi?"

"Indeed it is." Eleanor sighed in contentment before leaning her head back against the cushions of the couch to grant Tahani one of the brightest smiles that she had ever seen. She tapped a forefinger onto a picture of Chidi that looked like he was dressed in a weight lifting costume; all the while, a humorous glint sparkled in her eyes. "I don't blame you for being into him during that first time. He is a legit meal for the eyes."

In an almost disbelieving manner, Tahani leaned closer towards Eleanor. "Erm… Darling, are you all right? Are you going through an existential crisis? Do you need Janet or Michael to help you?" Tahani moved around the length of the couch and sat next to Eleanor, their bodies warmly welcoming each other. "Please don't tell me you're going through an existential crisis, I barely passed any of Chidi's classes!"

The other woman shook her head slowly, the smile of contentment fading into a fond exasperated look. As Eleanor rested her golden head atop Tahani's shoulder, she answered, "Nah, hot stuff. I'm just… the wave returned back to the ocean and I'm just taking in the scenery."

Tahani blinked.

"Come again?"

"It's a Buddhist thing."

Tahani sat rigid and looked at Eleanor like she had accidentally sprouted squid arms. "Jason told you that?"

"Puh-lease… Nah, Chidi told me that and well…" She shrugged and flipped through the pages of the calendar that rested on her lap. "I'm here and I'm okay."

"Well, do you want me to leave you alone because—" Again, she stopped short. Tahani didn't know what to say. She had come all the way from the Bad Place after telling her mentors that she had to make sure that Eleanor was going to be okay, but now… Now, it seemed that Tahani wasn't needed anymore. The thought shouldn't have filled her with the realization that Eleanor didn't need her now, but it did. It seemed like Chidi and Jason, Eleanor was starting to slip away.

When did that Arizona dirtbag become replaced with someone who was mature and accepting of change? It was disturbing, but in a way, Tahani was proud of her. "—because…" Tahani's voice caught in her throat. All those etiquette lessons that her parents had drilled into her brain were all for naught! For the first time in a long time, she was speechless—and this was after she had witnessed Glenn take off his skin suit on a dare and had turned into a gigantic lava rock monster.

Eleanor must have picked up on Tahani's apparent discomfort because she immediately hopped up to her feet and then helped Tahani up from the couch.

"Come on, let's get a drink."

"Are you sure?"

Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Honey, it's the same ol' Eleanor! 'Course I want that drink!"

Both women headed over the green door, Eleanor leading the way. As Tahani crossed the threshold into another part of the universe, she found that she was walking into what appeared to be a quaint coffee shop. A barista was standing and waving them over with a polite smile.

"Welcome to Starbucks! What do you want to order?"

"Wait, is this like Starbucks Starbucks," Eleanor can't help but ask,"or like, some kind of weird cosmic version of Starbucks?"

The barista smiled and pointed at the menu behind her. "We serve antimatter, the upcoming heat death of the multiverse, and—Ooh! My favorite!" The barista conspiratorially winked at both women before in a stage whisper, said, "One of our best sellers, the big bang."

Eleanor tugged at Tahani's arm, a smug little smirk on her face. "You hear that, babe. The big bang."

Tahani wrinkled her nose at Eleanor's emphasis on the 'big' part of the bang.

"Must you problematically sexualize everything you see?"

"Til the day I die. Oh, wait! I already did!"

Both ladies laughed, one more hysterically than the other, before they placed in their order. Tahani asked for her customary mug of antimatter sprinkled with stardust while Eleanor got her big bang. That done, the pair headed to a small table that overlooked a mixture of time and space melding into each other a slurry of stars and supernovas.

"Should have known that this wasn't a real Starbucks, the barista's hot, but way too happy."

"Agreed." Tahani paused and thought for a moment. "Eleanor…you're okay? Truly?"

"Tahani…I think I made peace with it." Eleanor looked out the window, noting how space itself wasn't just all blacks and darkness, but a variety of royal blues, purples, and reds all dancing together to form ephemeral masterpieces. "Kind of like how you made up your mind about being an architect, how Jason just knew when to go… It was a change that was inevitable now that I think about it, but…"

The barista handed them their respective drinks.

"Thanks, dude!" Eleanor turned to Tahani, sparkles in her eyes. "It was kind of inevitable… kind of like how death is inevitable, except, you know, we're already dead. But I've got memories of Chidi, you, Jason, Michael, Janet, and so many other people… change is worth it."

Much to her surprise, Tahani found that her vision was getting blurry and that Eleanor was mixing into the background of all shades of purples and blacks and blues—Oh dear! She's crying and she just couldn't stop.

"Eleanor, I—" She hiccuped, a sound that she hasn't heard in a few Bearimy's and tried to cough, tries to bury away the shame that she's showing vulnerability in a Starbucks of all things. "—I'm proud of you. And Chidi."

"Aww, babe." Eleanor interlaced her much smaller fingers into Tahani's tanned skin. Another hand brushed the stray tears that happened to fall down Tahani's cheeks, a look of concern on her usually carefree face. "Don't cry; I don't have a tissue on me and um…"

Tahani laughed despite herself and tried to hide herself by resting her face into the cradle of her arms on top of the table. Her hiccups had slowly transitioned into long, drawn out breaths that were supposed to keep her body calm and her mind empty. It wasn't until she felt a warmth encompassing her side and the scent of what was purely Eleanor filled Tahani's nose. It was calming, far more effective than what Tahani was trying to do earlier.

Eleanor rubbed circles into Tahani's back, careful not to cause wrinkles into the clothing—not that Tahani would have cared at that point. "Come on, Tahani! I'm still here, we'll both be okay."

Tahani collapsed in Eleanor's hold, giving way to her emotional state.

"We'll both be okay?"

Eleanor hummed in affirmation. "Yeah, babe, I got you."

For a few minutes, the two of them stayed like that as the sway of the universe piddled off into infinitum. It wasn't until Eleanor felt the classic burn of a cramp for standing too long in an almost crouched position that she began to straighten her posture and ventured back to her seat.

"Come on, let's celebrate." She raised her glass high. "To being okay!"

They raised their respective mugs, clinked the glasses to the toast, and immediately took a sip.

The antimatter was warm and refreshing, just as exquisite and phenomenal as the birth of a new star.