Apologies again for the wait on this one. For those of you who have been here since the beginning, know that I see you and I appreciate you. For those of you that are new, welcome! I finally got to the final chapter of this fic, 2.5 years in the making.


In retrospect, Rikki should have just called in sick. Instead of a gala she didn't want to be at and alcohol she didn't want to drink, she could have ordered in and spent her Saturday night watching cartoons and texting Cleo Facebook memes meant for people far older than them.

This had to be a punishment for trying to be social. There was no other fathomable explanation on how she let Zane talk her into going to some ritzy café geared towards the rich and snotty. But her ex offered to pay, and Rikki wasn't one to turn down free food - even if it meant having to share a breathing space with his somewhat-cleaned-up-but-still-kind-of-a-crapshoot girlfriend who had been giving her the side eye for the past twenty minutes.

Rikki sighed, forking more scrambled eggs into her mouth like she hadn't had any exposure to food that didn't come canned in the last decade or so (which, by the way, wasn't entirely false).

Allison had ordered something off the menu that sounded vaguely like a disease and Zane was prodding more at his waffles than eating them. Rikki wondered if rich people were always this blasé about their meals - not finishing your food simply wasn't an option when there was no guarantee when you would get to eat next. At first, nobody seemed in a particular mood to talk, the only sound being the waves hitting the shore and squealing of small children and their beach-loving families. In Rikki's opinion, it was far too early to be at the beach, but she was also the type of person who wouldn't get out of bed at all unless she had to.

Zane finally cleared his throat. "We really need to talk," he said in a tone that was just teetering on the edge of desperate. Rikki took another bite of her eggs, morbidly curious on how this conversation would end. Maybe it was wise that he insisted on going somewhere public, lest the fists start coming out.

Allison put her fork down, not having touched much of her own dish. Rikki had to admit, she looked different without the glamour and makeup. Not a bad kind of different, just….normal.

"Then talk," Allison responded, her tone giving little away. It didn't need to, her eyes did all the talking.

Zane pursed his lips. "What happened last night…" he paused, quickly glancing in Rikki's direction, as if to say 'are you going to help?' Rikki tried to suppress a smirk before cutting into her French toast. The truth was out of the question, not that Allison would be much inclined to believe in mermaids to begin with. In any other circumstance, Rikki wouldn't either. When it was clear she was leaving the explanations to him, he shifted his gaze back around. "Nothing, actually. Nothing happened last night."

"You took her home…"

"I was drunk" Rikki cut in, reaching for a napkin. "Considerably. But we didn't do anything. I passed out pretty much as soon as I hit the bed. Happy?"

Allison's nostrils flared. "Why should I believe you? Either of you?"

Rikki shrugged, blotting her mouth with a way-too-fancy napkin. It was embroidered. She almost felt bad for desecrating it with sugar and cinnamon. "You can choose not to believe him. You can choose not to believe me. I don't care. But it's your relationship on the line, not mine."

She could see Zane glowering out of the corner of her eye. Probably thinking something like 'that was decidedly unhelpful.' What did he expect from her? She wasn't a damn therapist. The only thing she could do here was tell the truth (or - at least - the non-mermaid parts of it) and hope for the best.

But what was the best?

Rikki didn't want to admit to herself that some part of her might have wanted this. The bitter, angry part of herself that she kept hidden away all of these years. The part of her that yearned for what she had with Zane all these years ago.

She was so naive back then.

But still, they didn't actually do anything. Did it look suspicious? Sure. Would she have have been upset if it was her in Allison's place? Also yes. Would she have demanded an explanation—

Rikki groaned, leaning back in her seat. Maybe she should lighten up. Just a bit.

"That's not an explanation," Allison started haughtily, crossing her arms in what seemed to be an attempt to assert her fleeting dominance in this conversation. Rikki stifled a laugh. That probably wouldn't have helped things.

Zane shifted in his chair, looking as though he was regretting every decision he had made in his life. "I told you at the gala," he said, gritting his teeth "Rikki is my ex -"

" - not helping - "

" - and this was the first time we had seen each other in years - "

" - still not helping - "

" - and, I will repeat myself since it seems to be falling on deaf ears, nothing happened. Nothing." He paused, taking a breath. "Actually, I seem to recall you being very interested in going back to the gala to dance with….what did you say? A 'nice young gentleman'? How did that work out?"

Allison's jaw snapped shut.

Checkmate.

Never mind. Rikki wouldn't miss this for the world.

"We…I…" she trailed off, twisting a strand of her blonde hair through her fingers. Another pause. A sniffle. "Shit, Zane…" she murmured, voice wavering. "I didn't do anything like that. I was just upset with you ….I thought it would hurt…"

He raised a brow. "Why should I believe you?" He didn't say it with malicious intent, something Allison - thankfully - seemed to understand. She picked at her plate, reluctant on making eye contact. "No," she said softly. "You…shouldn't, I suppose." She wiped at her eyes, and Rikki could see her fingers come back wet. All of the anger she towards her ex's girlfriend had seemed to dissipate in that moment. She was too easy a target.

Zane sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I had this idea - this stupid idea, mind you - that we might just be able to talk this out. Nobody has to get hurt." He dropped his elbows back onto the table, looking at nothing in particular.

Another pause.

Rikki bit her lip, spending considerable effort in trying not to make eye contact with either of her two companions. She really should have stayed home last night.

"It's too late for that," Allison half mumbled into her plate. She looked to be having trouble coming up with words to say. Her eyes were glistening.

"I…" Zane started again, but was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringtone. Some shrill, loud sounding thing that Rikki was sure came from a movie that she never intended to watch. "Damn," Zane murmured, staring at the screen. "I need to take this…my dad…it's…"

"Go," Rikki cut in, leaning back in her chair. "We're fine here."

She was absolutely lying out of her ass, but what did Zane need to know anyways? There was a high chance she wouldn't see either of these people after she left the shop. Rikki didn't live in that world, not yet. Probably not ever. She lived in the world of a 9 to 5. A 'walk to work because your car broke down and you can't bring it to the shop until the weekend' type of world. It's fine. It's whatever. She's not upset, she got over being upset about it years ago.

….probably.

Zane grimaced, but left quickly, phone in hand. Rikki almost felt bad for him, a grown man still under the thumb of his father. A father that still never liked her. Then again, Rikki didn't like herself half the time anyways, so she didn't blame him all too much.

She turned to look at Allison, who was preoccupied with moving her fork around her yet-to-be-identified breakfast dish but not actually eating anything.

Well this is awkward.

Was she supposed to be the first person to say something?

"Hi person I've known for less than a day. Sorry I blew up your relationship. But it isn't my fault actually and maybe I'm actually helping the both of you if you really think about it…"

She sighed. That'll go over well. Maybe she should just apologize, even if it isn't her fault. If it gets her off her case, if it makes things easier for Zane, not that he deserves it or anything…

"I'm sorry."

Rikki blinked, lifting her head. Allison must've dropped the fork during her musing, and now Zane's maybe-ex was looking right at her. Rikki felt herself shrinking back into her seat.

"Huh?"

Allison hesitated, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry," she repeated softly. Her eyes were still glistening. "It's just…" she paused to take a breath. Her fingers clench, then unclench. "It's not your fault. What happened that night. If you're telling the truth, that is. And I think you are…it's not that I think you aren't…but I saw him with you on the dance floor and then you disappeared. And my last boyfriend was an asshole and he cheated so I'm sitting here, assuming the worst…because…I mean there to be a reason, right? Why they keep leaving?"

"Hey," Rikki interrupted, grabbing her fist before she starts drawing blood on her palms. "You don't…"

"No," Allison stated firmly. She wiped at her eyes with her free hand. "No…it's not…" she trailed off again, taking a breath. "We were never really in love, you know? My dad and his dad know each from work so it just seemed…natural, I guess?"

She tried giving a small smile that doesn't reach the rest of her face. Another breath. "I see how he looked at you that night. He doesn't look at me like that. He never looked at me like that. I got jealous. And I get petty when I'm jealous. I didn't do anything either, I was just mad. Not even at him or you specifically. At everything, I guess. I'm sorry. I really am."

For a moment, Rikki didn't respond. She didn't know how to respond. She usually wasn't the one that got apologized to - she was the one doing the apologizing.

"It's impossible being a woman, isn't it?" she finally said, and Allison chuckled softly. "We dress up all nice and do everything right, and we still end up with our hearts broken. We still end up with nothing, or a man that treats you like shit because you think he's the only one who will settle for you. Did you know he was my first boyfriend?"

Allison shook her head.

Rikki nodded. "In high school. He was a bad boy. You know the type. Skipped classes and acted like an asshole to the teachers and other students. Because he could. Because there was nothing to stop him."

"So how did you guys…you know…"

"We got locked inside of a hotel room. It kinda forces you to reconsider some things." She took another bite of her French toast, she wasn't about to leave any waste. "Especially since it started raining and we had no cover."

Allison sniffled, but Rikki could see her lips turned upwards. "Funny," she murmured. "Sounds more exciting than anything we've done."

"I wouldn't call it exciting. There's plenty of time for that." She leaned forward. "Now let me tell you about the time he tried filming sharks around Mako Island…"

And so they talk. And they laugh. Zane eventually returns to the table, looking more exasperated when he left - Harrison Bennet has that effect on people - and frowns at the scene in front of him. His ex and his maybe-ex, laughing hysterically at a joke he wasn't around to hear. A joke that, unbeknownst to him, was at his expense. The best kind.

Rikki wasn't there for the conversation between Allison and Zane, that was personal to them. She hoped, for Allison's sake, that she can find someone for her. Someone of her choosing. Someone who likes her for her. And Zane has grown over the years, and Rikki's proud of him for it, but those two were never going to be compatible. Maybe their meeting tonight was a blessing in disguise.

#

Rikki had this idea today that she would try to be a productive member of society, but it's Sunday, and she's tired, and still a little hungover, so she instead lounges on her couch in a pair of sweats and a bottle of Gatorade. She'll spend a stimulating evening on the couch, browsing the channels she has access to on the the tv in the hope that at least one of them isn't awful.

Or, that was the plan, until her phone buzzed unexpectedly.

Zane.

She really doesn't remember giving him her new number, but she also doesn't remember much at all about the night before. She stares down at the screen. Only one word.

"Monae's?"

She could laugh. Or maybe cry. But he's offering ice cream. And he's offering ice cream at the shop where they spent their first date. She could decline. Or just ignore it. She was comfortable after all, and had no plans to go out.

But she really likes ice cream.

#

He's dressed in jeans and tee, a far cry from the formal attire adorning his person the night before. He looks amazing regardless.

"So…" Rikki started, unsure of how to proceed. She wasn't sure what this was…it certainly wasn't a date. A friendly gathering between two friends of the opposite sex. Did those still exist?

"So," Zane said, gesturing towards the line that was already spilling outside the main entrance. "Ice cream?"

Rikki raised a brow. "I'm assuming you didn't invite me here to watch me eat?"

"I was thinking more like a peace offering."

"With ice cream?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

Which was fair, honestly. If not for the the giant elephant in the room.

"What about Allison?"

"What about Allison?"

Rikki glared. "I don't think your girlfriend…"

"We broke up," Zane said, hands in his pockets. "It's…yeah…it wasn't working. I don't know what you guys said to each other in there, but…"

"I didn't mean…"

"No! It's not bad. Actually, you helped. A lot, Rik. We were having problems, and it was…it wasn't going to end well. It almost didn't end well. But it happened much sooner because of you and it's better for both of us."

Rikki shrugged, feigning interest in the concrete below her. "It wasn't the intention, you know. I wasn't trying to get in your pants."

Zane laughed, and it might be the most beautiful thing she heard today. "Really?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and she elbowed him in the gut.

"You sure got over her fast."

Zane's smile wavered. "I don't think I ever got over you," he said softly.

Rikki didn't know what to say to that. Not out here. She could say something snarky, something to try and break the tension, but that didn't feel right either. Because she never really got over him. Even after the shop, after Sophie, after graduation, she still thought of him. She still remembered what his lips felt like on hers, how his body reacted to her touch. She missed it. She missed him.

"I don't think…." she tugged on the hem of her shirt. "I never got over you either. Not really."

She could see his eyes widen. She could see his mouth move, as if trying to formulate words, but they never quite reach the lips.

"So why don't we try…" he started, finally, and with much perseverance.

"No," Rikki interrupted, putting a hand on his chest. "I can't start a relationship right now, do you understand? It's not you, I mean…maybe a little. But we just got back to talking with each other. Being civil and all that. It's not…we shouldn't…it's not time. Yet."

"Yet?"

Damn.

He's smiling. He's crossing his arms and smiling.

Damn. Damn.

"Yet," she repeated firmly, now a little unsure herself.

He's smiling like a maniac. And somehow, Rikki finds herself not minding. Not as much as she feels she should be. She's feels almost…lighter, somehow.

"I'm willing to wait, you know," Zane murmured into her ear. "However long it takes, Rik."

She turns to look at him - really look at him. "I know," she said back. A beat. "And…thank you."

"For what?"

"Helping me find myself. I got a little lost for a moment there."

He squeezed her shoulder. "Always."

"And what can I get you?" Rikki blinked, not realizing they made it to the front. Zane nudges her. "On me. Pinky promise."

She rolled her eyes, turning back around.

"Chocolate, please."