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—NORA—

December 19th, 2050

I pull my shawl over my shoulders and walk out of the clinic into the cobalt dusk, flinching at the chill in the air. San Fransokyo in December can get rather cold, and the trolleys don't offer much insulation, so I'm in for a freezing ride.

Today is Pippin's eighteenth birthday, and I'm going over to his house for the party. He's ecstatic to be a "man" now, although I personally think he's still a six-year-old at heart.

I hope Pippin likes his birthday present. I've spent nearly a year on it, since it was incredibly time-consuming. Maybe it was too much to invest in one guy who seems completely oblivious to my advances, but I decided to make Pippin a full set of the LOTR books. I bought copies, stripped the covers, and painted scenes from the series on the edges of the pages—the Shire on the first one, the Two Towers on the second, and Mount Doom on the third. The hardest part was leather-binding them, during which I cut LED-lit runes into the covers and lined the edges with gold leaf.

Personally, I think it's awesome. But what if Pippin doesn't like it?

He'll like it, I tell myself. I've spent way too much time on this to have him not like it.

Fred kindly stops the trolley near my house, so I get off and retrieve the present. It's been placed in a cardboard box and wrapped, then tied with a bright yellow bow—because why would anything Pippin-related not be yellow?

I hurry back out to the trolley, and Fred takes off, speeding toward the MacGuffin mansion. When we arrive, I thank Fred and jump off, standing on the sidewalk for a moment and looking up at the massive stone edifice, visible even from the trolley station. The house is made of pale gray slate, and the stairs are lit with golden globes. A stream runs down the hill toward the street, bubbling over moss-covered rocks until it culminates in a shallow pool, which has golden light emanating from underwater. Koi fish swim in the pool, and lily pads drift on the surface. I can't see it from here, but the mansion has an extremely advanced security system, installed after the Onyx Rebellion burned it down seven years ago.

Sometimes it's hard not to be jealous of Pippin. He grew up with everything he could ever want, living in a mansion with loving parents and more than enough food. Of course, Pippin has had difficult times, too—his parents lost four babies to miscarriage, and losing his parents when he was old enough to remember couldn't have been easy.

Sometimes, though, it doesn't seem fair—I was the product of assault on a fourteen-year-old girl, who didn't bother to find out what happened to me. I still barely know my mom, and my dad died when I was only two. I lived on the streets with Abigail for ten years, and we rarely had enough, if anything, to eat. We met Kona when I was seven, and Abigail took her in too, deciding to start a rebellion against the government that didn't protect us.

Now, I live in a small apartment near the clinic, where I work as a psychologist, studying typology theory. My job provides me with enough money to buy everything I need, but I still feel a little envious when I see my crush's mansion.

I shake my head and walk down the sidewalk toward the house, then climb the stairs to the front door, pressing the doorbell when I reach the top. The loud, ringing sound reverberates through the house, and I can't imagine how the MacGuffins stand it in there.

The door flies open as Pippin explodes out of it, flinging his arms around me. "Nora! Hi! How's life? That's a big box! What's in it? I hope you're not allergic to chocolate—"

See what I mean? No way that boy's eighteen.

I struggle to keep Pippin's present from falling as he sucks in a deep breath and pulls back. "Sorry!"

He puts a hand on my elbow, steadying me, and that and his adorable goofy smile combined cause my cheeks to flush. I try in vain to push the heat back down, not wanting him to see.

Pippin is just so cute—his round face, faint freckles, and tousled black hair make him look more like a little kid, and the fact that he has huge eyes, long lashes, and a button nose doesn't help.

"Thanks for coming," Pippin says cheerfully. "Here, I can take the box!"

He whisks the present out of my hands and goes inside, setting it on a little side table in the entryway. Several other boxes already sit there, and Pippin places mine on the very top of the stack, ensuring it's not going to fall.

"Come on!" Pippin exclaims, grabbing my hand and pulling me after him into the kitchen. "We have cake! And pizza! And lots and lots of donuts!"

My cheeks flame anew at his touch, and I quickly stamp it down as I come into view of everyone else. I muster up a touch of extroversion and start greeting people, my eyes landing first on my best friend.

"Kona!" I gasp, wrapping my arms around her. She doesn't hug back, but that's okay, she never has. "How long is it now?"

"Two weeks," Kona tells me, resting a hand on her extremely pregnant stomach. "I hope it's earlier, though—I'm sick of being pregnant. I swear I'm never doing this again."

"But you said we could have two," Kai says plaintively, his lip sticking out in a pout.

Kona sighs as her husband rests his palms on her abdomen. "Kai, I know we decided that, but that was before I decided I despise being pregnant."

"But you said—"

"I'm still thinking about it, okay?" Kona snaps. "Don't make such a big deal out of it."

"I'm not making it a big deal! You are!"

Kona huffs indignantly and stalks away, surprisingly graceful for a nearly-nine-months-pregnant woman. Her baby bump barely seems to hinder her movements at all.

Kai's lip is still stuck out, trembling slightly. I place a hand on his shoulder, smiling encouragingly. "Don't worry, Kai. You two will work it out."

"We usually do," Kai agrees. "But I think there's something Kona's not telling me. She's really secretive about a lot of stuff, so I'm worried that something might be wrong with the pregnancy and she doesn't want to worry me—I mean, I work with babies, so I feel like I should make sure they're okay. But Kona won't tell me anything."

"I promise she'll be fine," I reassure him. "Kona's made it this long—your daughter will be okay. I guess I could be gone when she's born, actually, so you've gotta let me know the second it happens, okay? I can't wait to meet my niece. Sort-of niece, anyway."

"You can be Auntie Nora," Kai tells me. "I want Ak—the baby to have as many relatives as possible." He drops his voice. "Plus, if you and Pippin get together, then you can be her aunt for real."

"I'm trying to get him to make a move," I complain, lowering my voice as well as Saber walks over to join our conversation. "But that idiot is totally oblivious."

"And that's different from any other man how?" Saber asks dryly, and Kai and I both laugh.

"I wasn't oblivious," Kai protests. "I knew full well Kona liked me."

"But you were shy," Saber reminds him, "which basically equivocates to oblivious in the sense that you didn't make a move until after you'd dated for four years."

Kai shrugs. "Touche."

"You could try a few girls, Nora," Saber says as the doorbell rings again and Pippin rushes to answer it. "They're a lot less confusing than guys. Plus they'd understand your flirting signals."

"I guess I could," I muse. "But I don't know any girls my age. Speaking of which, how's it going at work? Have you met anyone you like?"

Saber sighs. "Everyone is either too old or not my type. Some of the girls at EverNet are so dumb I can't believe they managed to get jobs at a tech company. Although some of them are cute, so that's a bonus. But that's no substitute for actually being competent—if I were CEO, I'd fire them."

"Saber's gonna be CEO any day now," Kai tells me. "She could run the place better than anyone who's actually in a position of power."

"Guys!" Pippin yells, bursting into the kitchen at the head of a plethora of people. "We're starting! I'm bored!"

I rake my gaze over the influx of humans, realizing that Pippin appears to have invited the entire population of San Fransokyo, or at least his relatives, which there are a lot of. Tadashi and Honey and their seven kids come in first, and next are Hiro and Momakase and their twin boys. Finally, it's Fred, his energy akin to Pippin's as he promptly knocks over several cups of soda.

I realize I forgot about someone when said someone suddenly has a vice grip around my waist. "Noraaaaaa!"

"Hi, KB," I say happily, looking down at Kusho's overjoyed face and ruffling his hair. "How's my favorite little ENTP?"

"Good! I'mma write a book!" Kusho chirps. "And it'll have pirates and tigers and spaceships! And maybe wizards, but I haven't decided yet, and definitely a princess and ooh I'mma put in some EXPLOSIONS!"

"Sounds like an interesting book. Have you started?"

Kusho shakes his head. "It's all in my brain right now." He taps the side of his forehead impressively. "I have lots and lots of awesome ideas and now I'mma write about them so everybody knows how to understand me."

"Kusho!" calls a voice, and I look toward its source to see Karu, Hiro and Momakase's son, beckoning the seven-year-old. Karu's twin, Koji, stands next to him, his round cheeks flushed with excitement.

"Come play with us!" Koji says cheerfully. "We've gotta go see the piano!"

Kusho looks up at me questioningly, as if unsure if he can leave. I smile and nod, and the kid's face breaks into a grin as he dashes off after the twins.

I think Kusho, Karu, and Koji are related somehow, but it's confusing. The twins are Kusho's adopted brother's biological sister's kids, which I guess makes them his nephews, but he's younger than them, which makes things rather perplexing.

Actually, Koji and Karu are my half-brothers, since Momakase is their mother, too. I've interacted with the twins on several occasions, and we get along well, but I still barely know Momakase. It might be because she's so stoic and quiet, content to slice things in half rather than talk to people. I won't pretend I'm not like that sometimes—I can see where I get my fighting ability. But would it hurt her to just get to know me?

I get where she's coming from—she didn't know I was alive until seven years ago, plus I was an illegitimate child. But Momakase has made absolutely no effort to acknowledge her daughter's existence, let alone be a mother to me. Which is fine. I don't need a mother—I lived for long enough without one.

Still, I need someone to care enough about me to give up everything for me, to show that they love me more than anything else in the world. But I'm worried I'm never going to find that someone—I've tried multiple times. When we made our trek into the Wasteland, I thought maybe it was Kai, and when I learned it wasn't, I thought Kona could be the one. But she made it very clear that she only liked guys, and so Pippin caught my eye—he was growing up, as was I, and I started to notice him, and now here we are—though he's so featherbrained that I'm not sure he even realizes I'm flirting with him.

Suddenly, Pippin himself appears in front of me, holding out a plate of pizza with a deep bow. "Dinner is served!"

"Thank you," I murmur, taking the plate and hopping up to sit on the counter as Pippin leans against it, drinking from a cup of bright yellow, carbonated liquid.

"You shouldn't have too much soda," I caution. "You know you'll get hyper."

"But I love pineapple Fanta," Pippin complains, staring up at me with huge blue eyes. "And it only makes me hyper if I drink more than half a two-liter."

"Which would be one liter."

"I guess so. But I haven't had more than one liter yet, so I think we're good."

I take a bite of my pizza. "So what's it feel like, being eighteen?"

"Awesome!" Pippin replies happily. "But you're nineteen—that's, like, even cooler than eighteen."

He sighs, tilting his head back and gazing at the massive crystal chandelier. "I guess I feel like people are never going to take me seriously. It's like it doesn't matter how old I get—everyone still thinks I'm a little kid who doesn't know how to do anything right. Just today Saber told Kai that I asked for a tricycle for my birthday."

"Hey," I whisper, nudging him. "Maybe you're a—a free spirit, but you're not a little kid, I promise. You're so much more than people give you credit for."

Pippin's gaze flicks to me, his eyes sparkling as he downs the rest of his cup of Fanta. "Thanks, Nor."

A tingle of happiness warms my chest, and I tentatively wind my fingers into Pippin's. To my pleasant surprise, he doesn't protest, only smiles radiantly, a faint blush spreading across the bridge of his nose.

"How's the brace?" I ask quietly, glancing down at the sleek black-and-yellow contraption strapped onto Pippin's thigh. "Is it still uncomfortable? Are you wearing it when you're supposed to?"

Pippin sighs, raking his free hand through his unruly dark locks. "I really don't like it. Kai keeps making sure I wear it, but it's super annoying. It makes me feel like I can't run around or have fun."

"It's just so you can keep doing those things," I tell him, squeezing his hand. "It'll help you climb rocks in Shadow Valley, Pippin. Won't that be awesome?"

"I don't know. What if I can't have fun because of this stupid brace?"

"You will," I insist. "And I promise no one will think any less of you for it. I know I won't."

Pippin reaches across the counter, grabbing a cinnamon roll donut from a platter and devouring it in two bites. A second one soon follows, and then a third, though he eats this one much more slowly.

"Have you been stress eating?" I ask. "You know that's not good for you, Pip."

"I just burn it off," he mumbles through a bite of donut. "After going into a food coma for five hours."

"What are you so worried about?"

"The expedition, I guess," Pippin says, swallowing. "What if it's boring? What if no one there likes me? What if I can't sleep?"

I laugh and start ticking the answers off. "There's no way Shadow Valley could be boring, everyone likes you—I'm serious, it's true—and you can sleep anywhere, Pip. You could sleep on a rock if you needed to. I'm telling you, you'll be fine."

Pippin smiles gingerly. "Thanks again, Nora."

He lets go of my hand to retrieve three slices of pizza, which swiftly disappear into his mouth. "You always know how to make me stop freaking out."

"I'm a psychologist, Pip. It's what I do."

"Do you wanna start presents, Pippin?" Kai asks, coming over to his little brother, who I realize with a start is now taller than him.

"Yeah!" Pippin says enthusiastically. "But for the record, I did not ask for a tricycle!"

He straightens up and hurries into the front room, and I follow him to see an absolutely massive pile of presents, all wrapped in varying shades of bright yellow.

Pippin sits down on the piano bench and picks up a very small box as everyone trickles into the room. He reads the label out loud: "To Pippin, from your very most favoritest brother."

He looks up. "That's a little unclear, Koosh Ball. But the Ps are all backwards, so that makes it easier."

Kusho beams. "I spent a buncha money on it! It's super cool!"

Pippin pulls the wrapping off the box and opens it, lifting a golden ring out of it. His face lights up, and he slides the ring onto his middle finger. Squinting, I realize that the golden band is engraved with runes—the runes from LOTR.

"Thanks, KB!" Pippin exclaims, spreading his arms wide. Kusho tackles him, nearly knocking the bench over, and Pippin ruffles his little brother's hair, laughing.

Next is a full-on wizard's cape from Saber, which Pippin immediately throws on and twirls around in, flinging his arms around his sister. Saber thrashes around violently, kicking her brother in the shins until Pippin lets go.

I smile when I see the next present, unveiled from under a yellow tablecloth—a three-wheeled motor scooter with electromagnetic suspension wheels and bright yellow racing stripes. This is, I gather, the purported "tricycle."

"Wow, Kai!" Pippin gasps, jumping onto the seat. "Can I drive it outside?"

"Not from here to outside!" Kai yelps. "But yeah, we can move it outside."

He wheels the scooter out of the room, then returns and sits down on the couch next to Kona. She leans her head on her husband's shoulder, and I conclude that they must have made up. They always do, although I'm sure they've had their disagreements.

The sound of ripping paper pulls my attention back, and I watch as Pippin unwraps an inordinate amount of candy and a helmet and bright yellow scarf to go with his scooter. My heart seems to stop as he picks up the next box—the one from me.

Pippin tears off the wrapping and lifts out the first book, his eyes widening as he runs his fingers over the watercolored pages. His finger slips onto the button on the clasp, and the runes on the cover light up, glowing a bright gold.

"This—is—awesome," Pippin says, his voice charged with several hundred volts of excitement. "Nora, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

He sets the book down and flings his arms around me, planting a kiss on my cheek. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," I murmur, patting Pippin on the back. Maybe he's not so oblivious after all.

"Let's go out on my scooter!" Pippin suggests, his eyes lighting as he grabs my hand and pulls me toward the garage, where Kai has moved the scooter. "I'll take you around the city, Nora, it'll be awesome!"

"But it's dark," Kai says worriedly, looking out the window. "Are you sure—"

"We'll be fine!" Pippin says, scooping up his new helmet and leading me through the garage door. "Be back in half an hour!"

"I don't have a helmet," I inform him as he hops onto the scooter, revving the engine up again. "And I wasn't planning on having my head cracked open tonight."

"My bike helmet's on the shelf!" Pippin tells me, gesturing vaguely toward the side of the garage. I search the row of helmets until I find the bright yellow one, putting it on and buckling the strap under my chin.

"You have a big head, Pip," I remark, tightening the strap.

Pippin laughs. "Yeah, I do."

"In more ways than one," I mutter, though I intend for him to hear it.

"Excuse me!" Pippin gasps, putting a hand to his chest dramatically. "I'm super humble! Humility is my middle name!"

"Your middle name is Faramir."

"Peregrin Faramir Humility MacGuffin!"

I hop onto the scooter behind Pippin, locking my arms around his waist. I can feel the faint outline of his muscles underneath his hoodie, though my fingers have to search through a layer of softness before feeling the contours. I don't mind, though—I like guys who have something to cuddle.

"Ready?" Pippin asks, twisting around and grinning mischievously at me.

"No. But go ahead."

Pippin twists the throttle, and the scooter shoots out of the garage. His bright yellow scarf streams out behind him as cold wind whips past us, and I tighten my grip around Pippin's waist, pressing my cheek to his back. I feel a shiver run through him, and I don't think it's from the cold.

"Where should we go?" Pippin yells over the wind.

"The docks!" I shout back, and Pippin veers sharply to the left. I can't keep back a small shriek of terror as one of the scooter's back wheels completely lifts off the ground, and my arms tighten into a vice grip on Pippin's stomach.

"Nora!" he wheezes. "Ease up! I'm not gonna kill you!"

I loosen my grip, though I still keep my fingers locked around his waist. Pippin twists the throttle farther, and we shoot down the hill toward the docks. Pippin whoops in delight, but I still have an iron grip on him, afraid I'll fly off if I let go.

"Loosen up!" Pippin tells me. "I won't crash, I promise!"

"Are you sure I won't die?"

"Yeah! Like eighty-three percent sure!"

I relax slightly, trembling as I lean back a little, allowing the wind to whip over my face. Taking a deep breath, I allow myself to breathe, to take in the cold air as it streams around me. I feel streamlined, aerodynamic, as though the scooter is the epitome of speed.

Pippin yanks the handlebars sharply to the right, and we rocket down a small alley. It spits us out onto the docks, and the scooter skids to a halt, leaving three black marks on the pavement.

"That was amazing, Pip," I say truthfully. "You're a lot better at driving a scooter than a car."

He laughs, taking off his helmet and running his hand through his already messy hair. "Thanks, I guess."

I'm reluctant to remove my arms from around him, since his scarf and hoodie make him look so soft and huggable. Letting go, I climb off the scooter and, taking off my helmet, place it on the seat. Pippin does the same, and I silently urge him to keep the scarf on, since it makes him look rather adorable. Thankfully, he does.

I walk to the edge of the dock and sit down, my legs dangling just above the water as I look up at the faint stars hovering over the ocean. After a few moments of silence, Pippin joins me, his shoes skimming the liquid darkness beneath us.

"Seriously, thanks for the present," Pippin says in what is probably supposed to be a whisper but is, at most, three decibels quieter than his normal tone.

"It's epic!" he continues, his sky-toned eyes sparkling. "I've never seen books like that before."

"Neither have I," I admit. "It just sort of came to me."

"They're my favorite present," Pippin whispers—a real whisper this time. His breath is warm on my cheek, and an anticipatory shiver runs through me, but then Pippin backs off, though he's still beaming.

"Are you excited for the trip?" he asks, and I have to tear myself away from staring at the faint freckles on Pippin's nose.

"Yeah," I tell him. "I'm just glad I'm going with you."

"Same! I'm so excited I almost wanna leave before Christmas but I don't actually wanna miss that so I'd be okay with leaving the day after Christmas but Honey Lemon won't let us leave until January even though I wanna go right now!"

He stops, panting, and swipes his hair out of his eyes. "Sorry, Nora. I'm just, like, super excited." Pippin grins sheepishly.

I can't help but smile. "I know you are. So am I."

Pippin's phone vibrates, and he pulls it out. "Oh—that's Kai. He wants us back home. It's literally only been five minutes and he's asking me if I'm still alive."

"He's got reason to," I remind him. "There have been several times where you could have died if someone hadn't been there to save you."

Pippin shrugs. "I live on the edge. It's more fun that way."

He stands up and holds out a hand, pulling me back up and leading me over to the scooter. I climb onto the back and strap the helmet on again as Pippin puts on his own.

"We're gonna take the long route home," he says when my arms are secured.

"Fine with me. Kai can suffer a little longer."

Pippin starts the scooter, and we speed off into the night, rocketing back through the alley and up the hill. Instead of turning back onto his street, though, Pippin drives up several more alleys, twisting and turning and almost throwing us off the scooter several times.

By the time we get back, my hair is windswept, even with the helmet, and my cheeks are probably bright red from the cold. Pippin's are a faint shade of rose as he pulls off his helmet and sets it on the rack at the side of the garage.

I check the time as we enter the kitchen and realize that my trolley is going to be here soon to pick me up—I've only got five minutes. "Sorry, Pip—I've gotta go, or I won't make the trolley back."

His bottom lip sticks out in a pout. "Aw, come on! You can stay for just a little bit longer, right?"

"Pip, there's five minutes until my trolley gets here."

Pippin sighs. "Okay, but I'm gonna make you take a bunch of food home."

He puts several cupcakes and donuts into a bag, then adds a Tupperware of pizza and a small bottle of pineapple Fanta. He starts to hand it to me, then changes his mind and throws three bags of Twizzlers and a jar of Skittles into it.

"There," Pippin pants, holding up the heavy bag. "How about I walk you down to the trolley station?"

Something flutters in my chest. "That'd be nice."

He pushes open the front door for me, and I pull my shawl more tightly around my shoulders as I step outside. Somehow, it seems colder than it did on the scooter—although I was basically hugging Pippin that entire time, so I guess that makes sense.

We walk to the stop, and Pippin and I stand together in the darkness, looking up at the few stars we can see.

"Hey, Nora?" Pippin whispers.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming. I don't know what I would've done if you didn't come."

"You would've been just fine," I murmur. "You have so many friends, Pip. I'm pretty sure you'd find something to do."

"But you're my best friend," Pippin says earnestly, and I realize that his cheeks are tinged with pink again.

I'm trying to think of what to say when the trolley pulls up and Fred crows a welcome.

"I have to go," I say softly, and Pippin hands me the giant bag of food as I step onto the trolley. "Thanks for everything."

I lean out and kiss him on the cheek, and the last thing I see as I speed into the darkness is Pippin's adorably bewildered face as he waves goodbye.