Epilogue: Forward

He rubs his fingernails on the edge of the concrete stairs and checks his watch irritatedly. The nails fray and split and the clock hands scream at him 'Late! Late!' like some kind of wonderland bunny on his wrist. With a sigh he stands up, pacing back and forth in front of the door, thinking over his lines, what he'll say, how she should be here already. His business here weighs in his stomach and wiggles around, not foreboding, but slightly uncomfortable. With a hand through his hair he turns from the door and stares down the road, breathing out as he sees the figure striding towards him. She halts for a moment at the sight of him but continues onward and eventually comes to stop just a few feet away. He steps forward, tilting his head and thinking.

"So…" Words elude him and he mentally curses himself for not coming up with a plan of attack before coming here. No one accompanies her, and he's thankful for that. Having someone else around would complicate things further. While it's one thing to have a really strange impromptu conversation with a girl you don't know, it's another thing to have a really strange impromptu conversation with a girl you don't know while other people are watching you suspiciously.

Plopping himself down on the steps again, he throws his head into his hands and leans backwards groaning. How did he manage to get himself into this? Why did he decide to 'talk' to her?

Because they need a push?

Because he can see where this will go otherwise?

Because everyone deserves a happy ending?

"Look," he says, gathering his thoughts and ideas and forming them into a topic, words. His hand stays suspended in mid-air and as he thinks he realizes that too many seconds have gone by.

The girl sighs and wraps her arms around herself, her pale skin seeming translucent in the bright sunlight. "If you have something to say, just say it," Miku commands in a tiny but stern voice, her big teal eyes seeming wary. "Otherwise let me inside." He blinks once and stretches his hands out, capturing her attention and his thoughts. He had learned more about her through his friend. No specifics, but it had become obvious that the girl had had some kind of trauma in her past. She's scared. Of everything. That's no good. That's what he'll address.

"Life…" he drawls slowly. "Life really sucks, doesn't it?"

Luka hears him jog up next to her, his knapsack slapping against his back with each stride. She stops thumbing through her workbook and glances up, gesturing to the seat next to her. With a sigh he plops himself into it, handing her a slip of paper and leaning over to look at her book.

"So it's all worked out?" His eyes float down to the tote bag at her feet, leaning against a larger piece of luggage.

She nods, closing her book and sliding it into the bag. "They gave me everything I'll need for independent study. I'll just have to return for a while to take the final exams." The chair next to her groans as he reclines in it, breath coming a little fast from sprinting some distance. He blows bangs out of his face and smiles at her from behind the strands, an awkward and sheepish grin. She returns it right as a speaker comes on over the intercom.

"Gate B-4, departing. Passengers 1-35 please board."

"That's us," he says and stands, facing the metal door that open. Two ladies in uniform stand at the entrance, taking tickets and wishing good travels to passengers. Luka walks forward with him, watching as his fingers clench and unclench nervously. She can't blame him for his unease. He's breaking contract. Even though his manager would be an idiot to let him go for something as small as bringing a companion, it's still a risk.

Her fingers find his and she can practically feel the world warp around her, setting up a new path for the two of them to take now that they have made this decision. Their feet stride in unison as they hand their tickets away and stride down the unstable hallway, the sound of engines buzzing nearby. Others pass them by, annoyed at their slow pace, until they are at the back of the line, standing still outside of the last set of doors.

"Do you think it'll be alright?" His voice is softly shaking, hinted with apprehension and something else. She looks up and they meet eyes, finding solace in the familiar shade of blue of the other. Her hand squeezes on his and his tightens in response, a type of affectionate contact that had come back to them almost immediately.

"We'll figure it out," she says, hoping her voice sounds resolute, and determining that the words will become true. He stares at her for a second, his lips barely parting, before he smiles and shuts his eyes. With one foot he steps onto a new surface and tugs on her arm, pulling her into the airplane.

He straightens up and brightness flows back into him, making him seem once again like the adventurous and ostentatious boy she had grown up with. His eyes are bright, his smile true and familiar and without a trace of misgiving. It's something she hasn't seen for a long time, not since things started going bad between them, and it feels like a breath of fresh air through her.

"Come on," he says and guides her down the aisle. Many different faces watch as they pass. The air smells like something new.

"I have so much to show you."

A/N: Note to females. Don't do this.

The End! If anyone's confused about her leaving I'll probably straighten it out later. You see, I'm planning on putting up a fic that is basically just a bunch of random fluffy and awesome moments from B.A.H. and T.W.W. that never made into the actual stories. For some reason this universe of characters just won't leave me alone...

I'll probably be writing Heat Haze Days next. Sorry to anyone who wanted something different; I'll do them all eventually. I find that if I make myself write a story that I haven't thoroughly thought out yet it doesn't turn out as well as one I know by heart. Thus, Heat Haze Days...*begins writing erratically*