Rem stands in the doorway, holding a book in her hands. She's smiling at me.

That smile hasn't changed a bit. Not since we first met in the village we called home, not since we reunited at the Peristylium.

But so much has changed since then.

"Hey, what's up?" I smile back at her. She walks into my office.

I used to think that my entire life was going down an immensely different path. None of those dreams involved me being the leader of an entire continent.

"I thought you'd want some company tonight, as you always do this time of year."

I glance at the calendar on the wall. Caelumens. For months, the thought of the horrific night kept me awake for hours. Rem too. I imagine her nightmares were always worse.

But yet that smile remains.

"You know I've never been good at keeping track of the days, Rem. What day is it?"

Her smile fades. That tells me everything I need to know.

"I see. Well, let me finish up here, and then we can do something to cheer up."

She has a desk in the corner of the room. It's decorated with all sorts of trinkets and happy messages. She goes to sit down at it, and sets the book at the corner of mine.

I raise an eyebrow to her from across the room, and she just smiles.

For now, I'm going to ignore the book. There's a stack of paperwork on my desk that needs to be looked at.

The minutes tick on. Rem's humming a song. It feels vaguely familiar, but I don't ask her about it.

I set the last stack of papers into the basket. Someone will deal with those in the morning, most likely Rem.

I run my hand over the cover of the book. There isn't a title on the cover, so I open it. Bright pink pen, Rem's favorite. Her handwriting curls across the otherwise blank first page.

"My dearest Machina, thank you so much for everything these past five years. They've been quite the journey, but I'm glad I've had a friend by my side. - Rem".

I brush away a tear that's started to run down my cheek. I turn the page, and see a photo. I keep looking. It's an album. Most of the photos are of me, helping Orience recover from the tragedies of the Second Orience War and Tempus Finis. There's some beautiful flowers and chocobos too.

On the last few pages, there are photos of our former classmates. It's like a yearbook. I smile. I hadn't seen them this happy and carefree when they were alive.

I didn't notice that I'd started crying. Not until a tear landed on one of the photos. I rush to dry it, before closing the book.

Rem's no longer at her desk. I was too busy reminiscing to notice her leave. Where did she go?

A gentle touch on my shoulder gives me my answer. I reach my hand up to hers, and hold it tightly.

"It's been a long five years, but you still have me, you do." Rem kisses my cheek. "I hope you're not mad I put photos of them in there."

I sigh, wiping away my tears with my free hand. "Not at all. It's good to see them happy."

"Good. I was a little worried about that. Let's get out of this stuffy office and get some fresh air, will we?"

Rem skips over to the door. I shut off the lights before joining her. We hold hands the whole way, not saying much. It's not an awkward silence, but a comfortable one. Besides, the world around us isn't silent. Cadets now here to learn history and math instead of magic and warfare roam the halls. Some bow to Rem and I when they see us. Others wave. Rem always waves back.

We've climbed these stairs a million times. Our favorite place in the school to visit is the terrace. We can see all the way to McTighe on a clear day, and the fresh air helps clear our minds. I feel the relief wash over me.

We look at the sky, watching the sun set. Rem turns to me and smiles, her eyes bright with the fiery skies.

That smile hasn't changed a bit. Not since our village burned, not since we survived the end of the world.

So much has changed since then, but I hope this never will.