a/n: Good night. Good luck.

The doors of the yellow minivan slid open, and the two hopped out with bags in hand. One stepped back to pay the driver, and he pulled away as soon as they took hold of their things.

Two suitcases each and handbags to match.

It was night in Station Square.

The lights shone from the tall buildings. Steam came from the sides of buildings and alleys were hidden in shadow. The familiar hum of electric buses. The distant sounds of the ocean as it lapped against the Emerald Coast. There were street vendors and people out for early early jogs. Or late late runs, you could suppose. The city breeze was familiar and cool. Cars passed in spaced out intervals and the lights were as usual indecisive about when they would change.

The weather was warm.

Amy and Rouge took their bags into the lobby of the swanky apartment complex. They waited for the elevator quietly and shuffled in as it opened. Rode it all the way up to the fifth floor.

They rounded the first corner after exiting and found themselves in the right place. Rouge set her things down and produced a key from the pocket of her jeans. She unlocked the door, twisted the handle.

A spacious, stunningly furnished apartment, just as she left it.

Well, this was it. Home.

They left their things near the entrance and flopped onto the couch to no fanfare.

"Yeah."

Rouge said it simply, but with immense satisfaction. Back to the routine, the day by day. But that was fine.

"Home."

"Mm," Amy replied.

Rouge stood up and walked to a nearby cabinet. She opened it and scanned through the bottles until she found one she liked. Walking over to the kitchen, she took hold of a plain glass and found the corkscrew. She quickly turned it and pulled out the cork with a swift motion, letting a loud pop sound.

She walked back with the glass in hand and poured out the champagne, Amy watching lazily as it bubbled up to the edge.

"Ah. That should do it." Rouge sat back down and took a swig of her drink, sighing with satisfaction afterwards.

After that, they sat in silence for a long while, just watching the door ahead of them and the surrounding walls. The occasional noise from upstairs would filter in briefly.

Dim lights and dim sounds.

Felt different in the ever-moving city. Almost quaint, dream-like.

"It doesn't look too different."

Rouge nodded at the comment. "Yeah. It wasn't like much of the infrastructure took a hit, anyways. Everything was running before we left."

"It still feels a bit empty."

"It does."

"How long's it been?"

"Almost four years now."

"That's a long time, right?"

"I think so." Rouge sipped from her glass. "What do you think?"

A tired shrug. "You're probably right."

"Happy to be home?"

"I guess. You?"

"It's a living. It's a life."

"Something like that." Amy closed her eyes. A formless sleep enveloped her.

When she opened her eyes next, she found herself in the same place. She stretched and got up. Rouge was curled up beside her, arms folded.

She walked to the kitchen and looked at the ceramic glass stove. Looked at the time and then opened the fridge.

Rouge felt her eyes flutter open and uncurled herself. A pleasant scent reached her. Amy set down a plate of eggs and toast with sliced tomato.

A vibration from her phone against the table. She reached out, retreated. Picked up the bottle of Chardonnay and tilted it to her lips for a drink. Put it back and picked up the ringing phone.

"Hey, hon. Yeah, we're back. Yeah."

Amy grabbed her own plate and sat down beside Rouge. She started to occupy herself with fragmented thought but then decided against it. She wanted to get back to the essence of the city and for once, away from herself.

She knew that Rouge felt the same way.

"Yeah. Just woke up. Eating something. Mm-hm. Alright. I'm gonna bring Amy along. Yeah. What do you think? No, nothing entirely illegal. We paid for all our flights, at least. Meh. Alright. Is my car still down there? Good. I'm taking a taxi down. Yeah. Yeah, set it up. Alright, hon. Kisses." She made another call as Amy motioned for her to pass the champagne bottle. "Hey. Yes, I'm back. We're one hundred percent over here, too. Yeah, she's fine. We're all clear. You too, you big oaf. Just link up with Shadow for now, yeah? I'll see you in a bit. Mm-hm. I'll remember. Love you, big guy."

"You wanna take a shower?" Amy asked after taking a drink.

"This won't take long. I'm sure they won't mind us looking a little sloppy."

"You know how Shadow gets."

"Yeah, he's a real peach. It's four in the fucking morning, I could care less what he thinks right now." Rouge dug into her eggs.

"Point made. What was that about bringing me along, anyways?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking..." She trailed off and looked into Amy's green eyes.

"You knew I'd object to staying home all day."

A tilt of the head briefly. "Yeah, I figured."

"I owe you if I get in."

"Pay me back in french kisses. It's fine." She finished her plate and took another swig of alcohol. "But I want you working part time. You need to cook more stuff like this."

"Deal."

Rouge smiled and gave her partner a pat on the shoulder.

"Let's roll, Rosie."

"Yeah. To the real world. Express route."

Amy stashed the plates in the dishwasher as Rouge grabbed their purses. She handed Amy's off to her and opened the door, scanning everything once as Amy left. She twirled her keys on one finger before locking the door.

They took the stairs and quickly made their way down to the lobby.

"Take the first one you see, yeah?"

Amy nodded and flagged down a yellow taxi.

"G.U.N Headquarters, please~" Amy said sweetly.

"No rush, either," Rouge grumbled. She closed the door behind her and leaned back in her seat. The taxi started to move through the morning darkness.

"Good fuckin' morning, Station Square."

"Yeah. We're back," Amy said.

"We're definitely back. Know what time it is?"

"What time is it, Rouge?"

"Time to do some damage. For better or worse," Rouge said with a smile. Amy leaned her head on Rouge's shoulder, smiling back.

The taxi cruised through the darkness, headlights bright.

A new day was about to start.

It was a warm morning in Station Square.

a/n: The journey has been long. Frustrating enough. Maybe pointless. But meaning something.

Talking too much leaves you with nothing to say sometimes. But maybe it's for the best, with some things left unsaid. I'll seal the tome here and hope it's enough. And that maybe you can take something from it, too.

Thanks for believing in all of this, and in me. You're appreciated.