Prompt: "Stories are just that. Stories."

Three cheers for Devil-spawn maltdorge.

Assume all assumptions.

Debby. Will we ever be happy?

San Francisco isn't that bad.

You've been here for a week, and that's all the time you have here. It's the last day of your so-called time-off - the one your mother and Oliver said you most rightly deserved but you can't remember why exactly you chose this city. Sure it's nice and sunny, quite a spectacular vacation spot, but whether your choice of holiday area had any underlying urge - you weren't sure at the beginning.

The last few days went by like a breeze with nothing else bothering your mind, but now that the time to leave is quite near - tonight - perhaps it was time for your subconscious desires to surface.

That would explain why you're sitting outside on this bench across the street from the San Francisco Police Department, impatiently tapping your foot and trying to think what exactly you're doing here.

It's been 2 years since Holly left you (and Toronto) and promises to keep in touch were slowly forgotten over the months. That still doesn't explain why you're just sitting here instead of giving her a call and meeting up with her. Maybe on some level - you don't want to meet her? Just a little reassurance that she's fine. Just a glimpse of her to refresh your memory. This isn't any different than looking up an ex on Facebook to see how they're doing - right?

You can't decide. Perhaps you had spent the last few days in San Francisco aimlessly wandering about the city - hoping to bump into her by accident? Maybe.

And now that it's the last day - you had somehow decided you had to up your chances?

Can't safely say that either.

But it's weirdly comforting to just sit here while the world rushes on around you. Oddly endearing even - to think of days you had pushed to a corner of your mind after Holly left.

That wasn't a very difficult thing to do. To completely squish all that happened to a little box and never think about again - even when either of you spoke on the phone. But sitting here - revaluating your feelings from that very jittery time, it's bringing up questions you never knew you wanted to ask.

Aimlessly scanning the crowds and traffic rushing by, it's bitterly amusing to think off.

You thought this woman was the love of your life, yet here you are - sitting afar, waiting for a glimpse of somebody you used to know.

After a while, you aren't even looking through the crowds intensely, just sitting there - lost in thought.

And that's when you see her, walking down the steps of the department, not even looking through the crowds. Funny - you thought when the moment you saw her you would somehow jerk back to being yourself - but you're as still as ever.

Some officer coming behind her stops her and they two begin to have a brief conversation outside the police station - and while pulling a lock of her hair behind her ear, she finally sees you. She's understandably stunned, and a minute later the police officer leaves her alone. You get up from the bench - but you don't quite have enough energy yet to cross the road to talk to her, and seeing her - neither does she.

So it's the two of you, standing on either side of the road - looking at each other in surprise. It takes a minute for you to smile and wave a bit before getting across the road.

A quick hug and hurried explanations of all possible trivialities later, the two of you are slowly walking through the crowds towards Holly's apartment.

You learn that Holly's been good - just gotten out of a relationship (like you.) and was in the process of getting back out there. You're just nodding along and drinking it all in - after all that was the aim of this day and you loitering outside the police department.

"I see you've grown your hair." Holly jokes, walking on in that snail's pace you've kept up since you left the department.

"Yeah, I think I looked like a copse long enough." you reply in your sarcastic tone, focusing more of your attention on your footsteps. Holly laughs her little laugh in reply - and the two of you continue on in silence, save the bustle of San Francisco.

"Do you ever think about us?" she asks, and it's a loaded question. Of course you do, but you don't want to admit that outright.

"Sometimes, sometimes." you nod, considering the question. "You were the love of my life after all."

Holly just gives you a flash of her lop-sided smile before turning back to look back at the ground.

"Maybe I just thought so - because it was all so different - you know - being with a woman for the first time and all that - I just thought it was love." you ramble on, not quite sure where all this was coming from.

"It wasn't just you." is Holly's reply - and you smile back at her for that.

"I'm serious! I had all these pictures in my mind of me handcuffed to you - it was so stereotypical and story-like in my head." she chuckles, and you smile at that mental image, before sobering up a little.

"That's the thing about stories though, they're just that." you sigh, and Holly nods in agreement.

The two of you continue on in silence till you're both outside Holly's apartment building.

"You sure you don't want to come in for a while?" she pleads with you - but it's late and the both of you know that well.

"My flight back's tonight - I've got to go Hol." you reply and she sees that you truly can't stay awhile - and you realize that your little rendezvous was now over.

She grabs you into this bear hug and you can't help but hold her close as well.

"It's weird. I'd never thought we'd have a last kiss." she reminisces in your ear and you too think back to your kiss farewell at the airport 2 years ago.

"Yeah. I know."

Finally stepping back from the hug and half promises to keep in touch later, Holly disappears into the huge apartment building, leaving you standing out here - not really sure of what to feel again.