Olivier stood in front of a white wooden door decorated with an autumn wreath. His heart beat thumped in his ears as he slowly raised a hand to knock. Everything was quiet around him, except for the leaves rustling with silent breezes. This was it. Everything either continued, or ended here- right at this moment. He swore he could hear laughter coming from the other side. Maybe it was Alexis playing with his new father. His better father. Olivier took a deep breath and knocked on the door three times. He could hear voices, followed by footsteps. He heard the locks clicking open, and the door knob turn. His breath caught in his throat. He wanted to run, but he was already past the point of no return. The door opened, and he was greeted by that familiar voice. "Olivier?"

Twitch stood leaning against Lion's door frame with her arms crossed, head tilted, and face beaming with a smile. Lion had to do a double take to make sure he was seeing correctly. "I never took you for a classical kind of guy," she said making note of his music. Lion couldn't contain his excitement. He was told by Six that she wouldn't have made it back to go with him until a day after he left due to a delay. "Well?" Twitch said holding her arms out to him. He seemed to run towards her as he sped across the room. His body colliding with hers felt like running into a brick wall. Twitch coughed on impact following it with a short laugh. "Sorry," Lion said a bit nervous. "It's fine," Twitch giggled squeezing him tight. Lion pulled away from the hug, but kept his arms around her. "I thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow?" Twitch said nothing, but gave him a sheepish grin. Lion's eyes lit up as he finally understood. "You knew I would ask to bring you with me whenever I finally made a choice, didn't you?" Twitch nodded her head adding, "I spoke to Six before I left, and I asked her that if you came to her while I was gone, hold you off until the day before I was supposed to arrive and not say anything about my return."

Lion's chest swelled with delight. He could never repay Twitch for everything she had ever done for him, especially after organizing a surprise return. "Allez zont, Olivier! We have a plane to catch!" Twitch commanded giving his shoulders a light pat. Lion let go of her and retrieved his duffel bag he had been packing. He turned off his speaker, and turned to the door to leave when he stopped abruptly in his tracks. "Wait, we have to get you ready as well," he said with urgent worry. "Nah," Twitch said shaking her head, "I've already had a bag packed and waiting." Sneaky girl. She really knew a little too much if she could already see herself going with Lion to visit Alexis. "Well, I guess we're off then," Lion said slinging his DUFF-B over his shoulder. They had started down the hallway to the stairs when they caught Doc who was coming up. Twitch's smile fell when she caught his eyes with hers. He looked between the two, but said nothing as he approached.

Twitch and Lion continued to walk, also saying nothing. They had almost made their way past Doc when he reached out and took hold of Twitch's arm. "Gustave, non, s'il vous plait," Twitch pleaded. "I'm not stopping you. I just wanted to wish you both a safe journey," Doc said turning to look at them both. "Olivier, you take care of her for me too." Lion gave him a single slow nod. Doc looked down at Twitch who looked up at him with big, doe eyes. "And you- take care of him too, Emmanuelle." Twitch bit her bottom lip shaking her head "yes". "Je suis d'accord, (I understand)" came her shaky reply. Doc leaned forward to plant a kiss on her cheek. He let go of her arm and planted a firm hand on Lion's shoulder. Lion planted a heavy hand on top of his. They said nothing, just stared at each other for a few moments. They capped the silence with a nod then let each other go.

Twitch and Lion started back on their way to Rainbow's air strip. They talked and joked, laughing between themselves as they leaned on each other. "Awwww, cuuuuuuute~," Valkyrie teased as she passed by. "Oh, shut up, Meghan!" Twitch fired back. Lion raised his eyebrows and flashed Twitch one of those typical Lion half smiles. "What?" Twitch asked. "Do I have to play referee this time?" Twitch gave him a playful punch on his shoulder as she failed to hold back her laughter. Lion couldn't help but laugh also. It was contagious when he was around her, which was everything he needed for the past month. His laughter stopped abruptly when he eyed the plane. Stepping aboard would be one step closer to seeing her. To seeing his son. He knew he was ready, but right now, he didn't feel like it. Twitch could sense the fear in Lion's body. She placed a hand on his arm, looking up at him. "We still have the car ride after this, you know." Lion took a deep breath and nodded. He pushed the door and held it open for Twitch. The piercing sound of the engines rattled Lion's body, or maybe it was just his nerves really getting to him.

Twitch wrapped her arm in his. Lion made a joke about her escorting him like a senior. She laughed it off shaking her head. "It's for comfort." He thanked her for it. He would definitely need a lot of it now more than he did in the past few weeks. They reached the steps, and Lion stepped aside motioning for Twitch to go first. "Are you sure you don't want to go in ahead of me? You do it every other time," Twitch said with a sarcastic smile. Lion rolled his eyes, "There's no bad guys for me to kill, I can hang back." Twitch began up the steps. Lion waited for her to be at least four ahead before following. His eyes wandered from looking at his feet up to the slim body ahead of his. He caught himself staring, and shook his head in an attempt to clear any pending thoughts. No.. Out of respect for Doc, Lion thought to himself. "Speed it up, you snail!" Twitch shouted at him. He had actually fallen way behind staring at Twitch. "I'm coming, don't rush me!" Twitch stood with her hands on her hips watching him come up. "I don't understand," she said when he finally made it on the platform. "You don't have your drone on your back, but you're moving slower than ever." Lion looked at her from the corners of his eyes. She flashed him a small smile and stepped inside the plane.

Lion knew she was just using humor to put him at ease. It was working, but at the same time did she really have to go at him that hard? After all, he was still faced with a daunting task. He stepped inside the plane as well, and turned the corner to take a seat. Twitch sat five rows in on the right side. She waved at him to come over, "I saved you a seat!" Lion had to laugh. That was either the best or the lamest joke she had made yet considering they were the only two who would be flying. "Do you want the window?" she asked as he approached. "No thank you." He sat near the aisle, afraid that if he looked out the window when they landed he would change his mind. The door to the plane shutting caused Lion to flinch. The engine's whirring became louder as the plane was getting ready to take off. They started down the strip moving so slow. Can we just get in the air already? Lion thought to himself. Twitch gasped causing Lion's heart to jump in his throat. Was something happening? He knew he shouldn't have decided to leave. He held his breath as he thought of every possible disaster scenario.

"Olivier!" she said with another gasp. Lion's heart was racing. She sounded frightened. Was there something wrong with the engine? Should he tell them to stop the plane? Twitch patted his arm and waved for him to look out the window. "Look at this!" Lion leaned over afraid of what he'd see. If she told him to look out the window just to see something falling apart he would probably faint. Lion breathed out followed by a weak laugh as he saw Team Rainbow standing just outside the base. They were all waving at them. Attackers, defenders, and even the recruits; all there to see Lion and Twitch off. One body dressed in all yellow caught Lion's eye. Finka stood by herself near the end of the wall by the corner. She had both hands to her face covering her mouth. Is she crying? Lion asked himself. She pushed her hands from her face, as if stopping in the middle of blowing a kiss. She clasped her hands together, and held them under her chin. It was her well wishing to seeing him off. A ping of happiness hit him straight in the heart. He wished he could tell her how much that gesture meant to him.

Team Rainbow shrank as the plane began to lift in the air. The colors of their uniforms ran together to mix into the neutral colors of the Earth. Lion sat back in his seat and sighed. Two hours until they made it to France. Twitch had brought along a book to read during the time that they'd be in the air. Lion didn't think to bring anything to occupy him during the flight. All he had as a means of entertainment was his phone, and it had nothing on it except for one game which bored him to death and his music. I guess it'll just be music then, Lion figured. He placed his headphones in his ears and scrolled through the tracks. He wasn't in the mood for any particular song, but the songs he had just didn't seem to fit. He put the playlist on shuffle and went with the first song to play. It was one of Castle's favorite songs he had downloaded for him. Lion closed his eyes to get lost in the music until the first line came in. "I sent you flowers but you said you didn't receive them. 'Cause you said you didn't need them...*" Lion hit next. He liked the song, but it was full of too many reminders. The next song was one of his favorites, so he let it play. "Someone's gonna fall in love in here tonight. Someone's gonna let their guard down one last time.**"

Lion looked over at Twitch who was deeply immersed in her book. She was always at ease. Even in high risk situations, she kept her calm as if nothing could go wrong. Lion was honestly jealous of her in that way. He could shoot people with no problem, but arriving at his ex-girlfriend's house made him extremely nervous. "Would you like to read too?" Twitch's voice snatched Lion from his thoughts. "Hmm?" He pulled one of his headphones out and leaned towards her. "Would you like to read with me?" Lion shook his head. "No, it's fine. I wouldn't know what was happening anyways." He went to put his headphone back in his ear when Twitch grabbed him by the wrist. "Can I listen too? I'll tell you what's happening, and I can read to you." Lion thought about it for a second before agreeing. The chord wasn't long enough to reach her ear, so Lion moved into the seat directly beside her. He handed her the headphone, and she placed it in her ear. "Whisper to me softly I'm yours, until we know that it's time to leave." The fact that that line was the first one for her to hear made Lion slightly embarrassed. What would she think of him listening to a song full of desperation? "I like it," Twitch said with a faint smile.

She began to give Lion a brief synopsis of the book she was reading so far, and began to read from where she last left off. Lion rested his head on the back of the seat and lost himself in the words Twitch read. He drifted off to sleep, only to be shaken awake by Twitch. "Olivier, we're here!" It sounded like a cheer with the way her voice held excitement. She looked out the window giggling to herself. Lion mustered up enough courage to look as well. It looked the same as it did when he was flown out to South Africa. The mix of country houses, city buildings, and the Eiffel Tower overlooking it all. It was beautiful. It was home. The light for them to secure themselves as they prepared to land marked another step to Alexis. Lion fumbled with his seat belt as his nerves riled themselves back up. Twitch pushed his hands out of the way and helped him. "My God, Olivier. Taking a trip with you is like journeying with a child," Twitch teased. Lion awkwardly laughed it off. She said that as if he didn't already know. He was faced with a new task now, though, and that was thinking of the words he would say when they arrived.

The plane had landed, and Olivier and Emma were on their way to the car. Olivier held the door for Emma, and took his place in the backseat beside her. The car slowly took off from the air strip, and onto the busy Paris roads. Olivier held a small silver box wrapped with red ribbon in his hands. He had taken it out of his bag on the plane before disembarking the plane. "A makeup gift?" Emma had asked. He told her it was at first, but then apologized for lying. He admitted he didn't want her to know what it was for, but felt he needed to come clean. "Oh," came her sad reply. She gave him a smile. It was weaker than her normal ones. She could have been upset at his decision, but keeping with her word- she supported him on it. Olivier bounced a leg the whole trip through the neighborhoods they traversed. He was perfectly still in the city, looking up at the buildings and telling her which restaurants he favored when he was younger. But as soon as they began to ride through the communities, he couldn't sit still.

The car turned down a street with an all too familiar name. Olivier watched the wooden houses pass by the window until the car came to a stop in front of a grey brick house. The driver held the door for Emma, and made his way around the car to hold the door for Olivier. A smooth breeze hit his face, beckoning him to step from the car as he sat still. He almost couldn't bring himself to step out, but he forced himself to move. He took his place beside Emma at the end of the driveway as the driver returned to the car. Olivier stared up at house he hadn't seen in almost five months. He had made it this far, and now he wanted to turn back. To just leave the box where he stood, and return to the plane with Emma. His right hand was beginning to feel hot from all of his anxiety. He looked down and saw that Emma had placed her hand in his with her free hand on top. She didn't say a word as she looked up at him. The corners of her lips turned up ever so slightly as his eyes caught hers. "I'll be right here," she assured him. Olivier swallowed hard, nodding his head and taking a deep breath. He took a step forward, and Emma let go of his hand. He wanted to stop, to ask her to walk up there with him; but she knew, as well as he did, that he needed to do this on his own.

Alright, settle down! Just kidding! c: I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was kinda... Mehr? x~x Idk. Last chapter is gonna be sad D: Or not. Idk how you guys handle your emotions lol c: Thanks for thinking my story was worth reading this far~! ^^

* Black Beatles- Rae Sremmurd

** It's Just Begun- She Wants Revenge

(I knowwwwww. It's so CRINGE to put song lyrics like these in a story, but I wanted to hint at how Lion is feeling about Clare and Twitch. I'm sorry if your body ended up crumpling ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )