Author's Note: Hey, guys? If you could start leaving reviews again, that would be wonderful. Please and thank you. I would really appreciate it. :)
Oh, and on another note, this story is almost over. Yup, this'll be the second to last chapter.
When Mai and Valon eventually pulled apart, they allowed the memory to take over for them. Standing there in each other's embrace, they smiled. Their lips met, and the original mood of the memory settled over them, allowing them to relax and get swept away in the kiss.
Valon sighed contentedly after their lips separated and rested his forehead against Mai's, allowing a few moments of silent happiness before he swept Mai up in his arms, much to her surprise.
Mai squealed in surprise, asking Valon, "What are you doing?"
Valon grinned wildly at her and declared, "You and I could use a swim!"
So despite Mai's half-hearted protests, Valon ran into the ocean with Mai in his arms, where he promptly lost his balance and was knocked onto his ass, laughing all the while.
Mai squirmed out of his arms, laughing, and got to her feet while Valon complained about salt water in his eyes and how movies always made it look like no big deal. Smirking, Mai sent a large wave of water after him, crying out playfully, "You ass!"
Valon grabbed Mai by the hand and pulled her down next to him. Calming down, they smiled and rested their foreheads against each other's yet again while the water started to disappear. "I wish we could stay like this forever," Valon murmured.
Mai pulled away so she could look at him. She smiled sadly and placed her hand on his cheek.
"Me too, Valon. Me too."
The month following Raphael's departure had been maddeningly uneventful for Valon until he ran into the beautiful stranger again. Instead of meeting her while out for a run, he came across her in the fruit and vegetable section of the supermarket. She was picking ingredients for what he assumed was a salad, and he was picking out fruits for a smoothie to satisfy his recent desire for something sweet.
They happened to glance at one another while perusing the shop's goods and they paused. The stranger nodded at him coolly before returning to what she had previously been doing and Valon decided that it wouldn't hurt to see if she would still claim to know him.
"Hi there," he said genially, walking up to her. "'Member me?"
A corner of the woman's pink lips twitched like she wanted to smile, but she clearly thought better of it. "I sure remember you, but it seems like you don't remember me."
Valon smiled uneasily. "That's 'cause," he said, chuckling nervously, "I don't."
She pursed her lips and stared at him with slightly narrowed eyes for a few moments. "Well, seeing how you are talking to me and you didn't dive behind the pineapples, I guess that's enough reason to believe you." Her guarded frown gave way to one of a morose nature. "But I don't want to. I just don't understand."
Valon gripped the handle of his shopping basket. He didn't even know her, yet he absolutely hated to see her so upset. "I don't—I don't either," he admitted. "I-I wish I could."
She did not respond, just looked off to the side and pushed some of her hair back.
Valon swallowed and added, determined to keep the conversation going, "But you're sure that you definitely know me."
She snorted derisively and rolled her eyes. "Of course I do, you goof. You and I—we spent the greater part of a year together. Yeah, I know you."
"Okay," Valon responded. "If you say that we knew each other, I believe you. I just wonder why I can't remember anything."
She sighed. "Me too, Valon."
Valon chuckled. "You know my name, yet I don't even know yours."
"It's Mai," she replied softly. "Mai Valentine."
"Mai," Valon repeated, privately noticing how good—no, how right it felt to be saying that name. "Lovely name you got there, Mai."
She allowed herself to smile. "Thanks," she said, brushing some more of her golden hair past her shoulder. "You know, maybe—if it's okay with you—we could meet up later and see if we could jog your memory," she suggested, smile melting back into a more guarded expression. She looked like that was what she wanted most in the world, yet didn't want to get her hopes up. Valon's heart went out to her.
He grinned all the same, however. This was the most excited he had been since Raphael had agreed to stay over. "Sure! I'm free today, actually."
A bittersweet smile found its way upon Mai's lips. "Well, that's just perfect. How about we meet up at the park around here later on today—say five o'clock?"
"Perfect!"
Mai then smirked deviously. "It's a date," she declared, winking at him over her shoulder as she sauntered off so she could continue shopping.
Valon smiled from the cash register til he got home, repeating her name over and over to himself like it was some kind of magical spell.
Valon got a good look at the Caribbean sky as he floated on his back in the hotel resort pool. Mai sat at the bar fixed in the center of the shallow end of the pool, sipping on her margarita through a thin straw. Valon started to tread water and grinned as he looked at Mai with her big sunglasses and her floppy sun hat that was several shades paler than her hair color. Valon's grin grew as he marveled at the knowledge that even though he was watching Mai do something as simple as enjoying her drink, all he could think was, God, I love this woman.
Valon swam to shallower waters until he was able to stand up and walk to bar and heft himself up onto the blue tiled bar stool next to Mai's. He asked the bartender for a glass of water with lots of ice, meanwhile he used his foot to trace lazy circles in the water near Mai's foot.
"I think this is when I finally accepted that you were staying," Valon admitted to Mai as the bartender slid his water over to him.
Mai removed her lips from the small straw and looked at him. She slipped her glasses off so she could fully look at him. "Really?" she asked.
Valon nodded and removed the lemon wedges from the rim of his glass. "Uh-huh," he replied easily. "I just—it's just... You know, with—with Wheeler and all."
"I see," Mai replied. "You thought I was going to ditch you early on in our relationship."
Valon shrugged. "Truth be told," he continued, relieved that he was telling Mai this, even if it was just his mind's recreation of her, "I felt his presence for a while in the beginning. I didn't completely relax until we went on this trip together."
"Where it would be hard for me to run away, hm?" Mai joked, stirring her margarita around with her straw.
Valon chuckled, trying to ignore the distress he felt in his heart as the scene gradually melted away from them.
Mai didn't greet Valon with a hello when they met up at the park; instead the first thing she said to him was, "You have a tattoo of three initials on the right side of your ribcage which, ouch, must've hurt."
Valon blinked in surprise.
Mai gazed at him soberly before continuing. "I say this in case you had any remaining doubts. S.S.M. Sister Sarah May."
Valon swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his face warm up. "N-no one else knows what those initials mean. No one else but you."
She nodded, her expression softening. "I know," she replied gently. "And I can also tell you about all the other things I know. Come on, let's go for a walk."
Valon had slept lightly on his and Mai's first night together; his body was alert for any major shifts on the bed, and so his eyes had flown open when Mai had sat up and placed her feet on the ground. Valon rolled over onto his side so he could get a good look at Mai in the early morning light peeking through his bedroom windows. He yawned, and she finally looked back at him. "Morning already, hm?" he asked, the sleepiness in his voice covering up the intense fear that she never wanted to see him again.
"It would appear so," Mai replied, gazing at him with an unreadable expression on her face.
"Do you have somewhere to be?" Valon asked her, hoping that she would say no.
"Not particularly," she answered.
Valon yawned again and hesitated for a few moments. He didn't want to come off as too needy, but he had to ask. "Will you stay?"
Mai exhaled and lay back down next to him, settling back under the covers. "I guess I could stay for breakfast," she said, rubbing her leg against his.
Valon grinned and kissed her forehead as the memory started to break down. "How about you stay for dinner?"
Mai smiled at him and then closed her eyes as they both drifted back to sleep, all while their surroundings gave way to the erasing process.
Valon had always wondered when and where he and Mai would meet again. He generally thought that since she knew where he lived they would surely see each other again at his beach house. However, it was at a bar where they found each other again.
Valon was into his second round of pool when Mai entered the establishment. His opponent had looked up from their game and Valon had followed suit out of curiosity. He caught Mai's eye, and she pursed her lips and beckoned him to come over to her. Valon shoved his pool stick in some spectators' general direction and let it go without checking if anyone was reaching for it.
He walked up to her as calmly as he could manage, like one would approaching a cat on the street. Mai gazed at him coolly and Valon realized that he was very, very nervous. He let out a small exhale and lightly slapped his thighs. "Uh, hey there, Mai," he said when he finally got to her. "How are you? How've you been?"
Mai's response was to grab him by the neck of his shirt and kiss him roughly. "Did you keep her safe?" she asked when they pulled apart.
It took Valon a second to realize that she was referring to her beloved card. He jumped and said, "Right! Of course!"
He promptly pulled out a metal card case from his pocket, popping it open so she could see that her card had come across no damage. "Kept her safe," he promised, handing the case over to her.
Mai smiled at him appreciatively, pulled her card out, and slid it back into the deck resting in her thigh holster. "Thanks for not selling it," she said, handing him his case back.
Valon grinned. "That would be insensitive of me," he proclaimed, slipping the case back into his pocket. "Especially since you left her in my capable hands," he added, winking playfully at her.
Mai smiled at him once more and leaned in close. "Let's get out of here," she whispered, taking his hand in hers. Mai then laid a gentler kiss on Valon's lips, and then the two made their exit.
It was raining and Mai leaned against a random building. Valon approached her, and while he could have let the memory take over for him, he found that since this was The End for any interactions he'd have with Mai, he'd rather say what was on his mind. He sat down next to her and savored the cool feeling of the steady rainfall upon his face. Strange how everything felt so real to him, so tangible, even though he was asleep.
"So this is it," he murmured, just barely loud enough for Mai to hear him over the rain.
She looked at him, features clouded with regret. "Yep," she agreed. "This is The End. Fun while it lasted, hm?"
Valon exhaled and leaned in closer to her. He cupped her chin in his hand and kissed her. It would be the last time to do so, he realized.
They pulled apart and looked at each other morosely. Valon sighed as the memory started to break down. He rested his forehead against hers and she threw her arms around him.
It was their last remaining moments together, and Valon had to make it count before he forgot everything.
"I love you..."
Valon entered the conference room as per his boss's request.
Dartz turned around and stared at him impassively when he heard Valon enter the room.
"Ah, young Valon. I have a new assignment for you." Dartz slid a folder towards Valon across the table. "I expect you to bring her to me within the week."
Valon opened the folder and scanned the information and provided picture. "She's pretty," Valon remarked, eyes welling up, voice breaking. "What's her name, boss?"
"Her name is Mai Valentine, and I expect to see her soon."
Valon squeezed his eyes shut, and some of his tears spilled out. "Right," he said, slapping the folder shut. "Can do."
They circled the park three times before they decided to get some ice cream.
"Hey," Mai said as they left the ice cream shop. "Walking around is fun and all, but how about I show you my place? I mean, maybe that'll help, you know?"
Valon smiled and agreed.
Mai monitored Valon's reactions as they eventually made it to her apartment; she checked to see if there was even the smallest hint of recognition in Valon's blue eyes as she led him into the building. She saw nothing, no indication that Valon was even the slightest bit familiar with the place. Mai contained her sighs as they stepped into the elevator. She could not, would not get her hopes up.
"Well, this is it," Mai said plainly as she unlocked her door and led Valon into her apartment.
She stepped aside so Valon could get a look at her living room. He placed his hands in his pockets while he took it all in.
Mai exhaled and decided to take a chance. "So even after all this talking we've been doing, you still don't remember a thing?"
Valon looked at Mai helplessly. "I wish I could remember," he replied.
Mai frowned pensively, looking off to the side in thought. She maintained silence for a few moments before she looked back at him resolutely, saying, "Follow me." She led him to her bedroom, pausing for a moment to let him take in the surroundings, hoping she'd find a look of recognition upon Valon's features, hoping that if he didn't recognize her living room, then maybe he'd recognize her boudoir. When she didn't get the reaction she wanted, she inhaled and said, "We spent a lot of time together in this room. Your room, too."
Valon's blank stare remained.
Mai sighed and walked over to the nightstand located next to her side of the bed. She pulled the top drawer open and found what she was looking for. She held up her deck of cards for Valon to see. His eyes lit up. "You play?" he asked.
Mai pulled the card resting on the top of the deck. She looked at it thoughtfully before handing it to him face down, muttering, "Not as often as I used to." Valon turned the card over and studied it. "Now tell me: does this card have no significance to you whatsoever?"
Valon stared at Cyber Harpy Lady for a few silent moments, then promptly collapsed onto his knees, clutching at his head in agony.