Flaky's life was not the same as it was two years ago. She had been picked up, turned around, turned over and then thrown for a loop. Her subconscious seemed to break like a crack in a window and she was thrown through, and here she was back where she started.

The year was 1918 and the war had finally ended. There was a celebratory feeling coursing through the air and the people, but she only sat on the balcony of her apartment, smoking cigarettes she hadn't smoked since she was 18. She'd moved out of her apartment with Giggles and had been living on her own for those two years, trying to find a place for herself in the world to rid the feeling of being so lost. Now two years later, the boxes still sat unpacked in her living room, gathering dust.

Chronic anxiety, as the doctor had called it. No, I haven't had that since I was a little girl, she'd said. Well it never really leaves you, he'd explained.

Flaky sat on the balcony now, watching the street below fill with bustling people. She blew out the smoke from her drag, watching it swim through the air and dissipate above her head. She had promised Giggles she would meet her downtown to go to one of the parties one of the parlors was throwing. She didn't want to go, at all, but she felt a little bad for having moved out and breaking off her once regular contact with her. They'd only seen each other a total of 6 times since she'd moved out, mostly because Flaky never left her house unless it was to get groceries or more cigarettes. Human contact just felt like uncomfortable needles in her skin now, just like when she was 8 years old and was scared of anyone other than her mother and father. But for Giggles, maybe she could endure it for a while.

She'd more or less become completely asexual after her night in 1916. As she walked through the crowd now and a few men offered to buy her a drink, she would decline without feeling the slightest bit of emotion in her heart. She wasn't interested. She probably never would be again. She had sent two letters to Flippy, but never received a reply. The day she realized he was probably dead was the day she ceased to feel love.

Flaky arrived on the square about 5 minutes early, stealing a place beside the wall and waiting patiently. There were more people than she'd expected, with all the streets full of lights, sounds, and crowds. Everyone was happy and jovial; some of the troops had returned and more had come later that day. Reunited friends and families laughed and celebrated, banners and signs ran along buildings. It was one big welcome home party, even though some were still just as troubled and some of the news reaching them wasn't good. Flaky's neighbor's son had been announced dead in a letter they'd received in their mailbox, and yet she saw the couple moving amongst the crowd now. Everyone, no matter what the story, was just trying to be happy again.

Just when she'd turned her head to look for Giggle's arrival, she felt arms being thrown around her neck.

"Flaky! There you are!" Giggles laughed in her ear, and Flaky hugged her back before she eased away.

"God, I've missed you," Giggles said, pushing her pink hair behind her ear. She was still lithe and beautiful, a little taller maybe, and had that same sparkle in her eye. It almost felt foreign to be so open again after all the time spent apart.

"I've missed you too," she said, and it was the first time she'd said anything and meant it in a long time. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Oh, hush, its no big deal," she squeezed her hand, "I'm so glad you agreed!"

"Well I couldn't turn such a good friend down," Flaky said, and Giggles smiled warmly. "Flaky, how have…how have you been? And when I ask this," she leveled her eyes with Flaky's, becoming serious, "I mean it."

Flaky felt the familiar cold chill in her veins and the knot twist in her stomach, but she put on the face she'd spent two years crafting and said, "I'm okay."

Giggles didn't look convinced, so she threw in a smile and a pat on the shoulder.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Thank you though-"

She was cut off by the sound of two cat calls and she looked over Giggle's shoulder to see two uniformed men walking up. Giggles turned and greeted them warmly, throwing her arms over their shoulders and pulling them in.

"Flaky, this is Splendid and Mole. They just got back to Paris a couple days ago."

"God it's good to back," the one with blue hair said, raising his cap up to scan the area.

"We went to school together," she explained, smacking his hat off and ruffling his hair, "and they've been dying to meet you."

"She hasn't shut up about you," the one with light purple hair said, and Giggles jabbed him in the side.

"Don't say it like that!"

"It's true."

"Is not!"

They continued to laugh a bit before Giggles finally noticed the look on Flaky's face. She had been standing there, watching them, frozen and eyes wide like she'd just seen something terrifying.

"Flaky?"

"You both have army uniforms on," she said, completely ignoring Giggles.

"Yes, we do," the blue haired one laughed, looking puzzled, "We were in the army after all. Been up north for God knows how long-"

Flaky reached over, snaking her hand through his jacket and pulling out a silver pair of dog tags. Before he could protest, she pulled Flippy's tags out from underneath her shirt too and held them beside each other.

"Do these look familiar to you?" Flaky demanded, raising the tags to his face.

"Um…" he took them in his hand, gently turning them over. "Well, yeah actually. It's got Flippy's name scratched on the back. Good guy, talked to him just yesterday. How did you get these-"

"Flippy?" the purple haired one barked, "No way! Son of a bitch, he just told me he'd lost them! Hey, do you know him, miss?"

They looked at her as her face suddenly went pale, and she felt her heart jump start in her chest. Without saying a word, she pushed past them and began to run through the crowd.

"Flaky!" Giggles called out after her, but she didn't seem to hear.

She squeezed through the tightly packed people and managed to mutter a few apologies, veering to the right and barreling down a back alley way. It was dark now, but she kept running, only having one clear idea of where she was going.

She ran through people and dodged elbows and arms. She ran through the streets and around houses. She ran past her house and her old apartment with Giggles. She ran through blocks and cars and didn't stop until she reached the park, flying across the grass and onto the steps of the bridge. Her heels were beginning to make blisters, so in one quick movement she reached down and yanked them off, tossing them over the railing and into the water. She ran to the other side in her stockings, stopping when she reached the part where you could clearly see the Eiffel Tower peaking up over the horizon. Skidding on her heels she clutched her knees, gasping for breath, her heart pounding in her ears. There was no one around, and as soon as she had enough air in her lungs to stand up straight she allowed her head to clear. It was crazy, and most likely impossible, but she had a feeling. She just had a feeling that…

"About time you showed up."

Her blood came to a crashing halt in her veins, coursing like water under ice. Everything stopped like the moment right before two cars collide, when the seconds become eternities and everything is in slow motion. Her heart was colliding with her rib cage as she turned around.

"I was thinking you weren't going to show up!" Flippy stood no more than 15 feet away, his jacket wrapped around his hips and his hands in his pockets. He sauntered out from under the shade of a tree and stood before her, his green hair tangled and scruffy.

She didn't mean to, and she didn't even feel it coming, but in that moment she burst into tears.

He stepped back, looking genuinely surprised and a little scared as she began to wail, covering her face in her hands.

"F-Flaky-?"

"Shut up!" her voice cracked, and he stilled. "You shut up! Do you know what it's been like? You left, and I was doing so well before I met you, and I could've gone my whole life pretending I was happy and being strong. But I can't anymore, and I've been miserable, and it's not fair! I'm so scared, and I don't even know why! I'm not even sure who I am anymore, and I don't know if you do either!"

She was rambling now and didn't notice Flippy gradually making his way towards her until she looked up and their eyes met.

"You haven't changed a bit," he smiled, "Still so afraid to be yourself."

He raised a hand to lightly brush his knuckles across her cheek, wiping away a stray tear.

"When are you going to realize I knew the real you the whole time? If I didn't, I wouldn't be here."

"You really are here, aren't you," she whispered, touching his face like her hand would go right through it.

He raised his hands up and made a rectangle with his fingers, squinting one eye and framing her face.

"Yeah," he said smiling, "and so are you."

"Flippy," her voice wavered as she felt her heart swell and the emptiness begin to fade, "…where are we going from here?"

He grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. But I'd love to find out."

Their lips met, and time resumed once again.