Here we are! The small epilogue I've promised. (I'll write some thought so please read the chapter before reading this!) It happens a few days after the event of the fic (I decided to not give a specific timeframe, so you can imagine however long you want, but it's still summer!). This epilogue aimed to be sweet, a cute and hopeful ending, that allow people to imagine what could happen! It's really open-ended, actually there's a second part to this epilogue I completely cut that would have been on their phone call and it being a bit awkward. It was cute but I think it's even better to end just as they finally get to talk again! Who's the first person to say "Hello" ? Who knows! It's up to you! It's been weird finishing up this story as I focused on it a lot for the last month. I'll miss writting it, and my timing being horrible It ended around the same time as the remake, how sad! I still do plan on writting more Atalum stuff, I have lots of ideas, so I hope you'll support me once they release too! Thank you!

Ataru and Lum are back to square one, away from each other. This time though, the impact of their second date is visible in their actions.

It was early morning in Tomobiki—at least an early one for Ataru. Not that he slept much. But for the few hours he did, he'd always wake up early. All because of that day. I guess it's the only benefit. Ataru thought while his eyes were fixated on the ceiling, as if trying to look through it. Still lying down, he pushed the futon away and sat up. He instinctively gave a curious glance toward his closet. Why am I thinking about her first thing in the morning?! He forced himself to look away, trying to change his thoughts. It's been like that ever since their second date. The Oni was constantly finding a way to drift back into his thoughts. Similarly, the strange empty feeling he had felt only got worse. How annoying can she be?! Even when away, her presence was still looming over him. The Oni seemed to have a never-ending frasp on him—Something Ataru should despise in every way, it was attacking his freedom after all. And yet. Having someone like that, someone that he knows was eager to spend time with him... He couldn't push her away completely.

His body started moving on its own as he was trying to insult her in his head. He approached the closet and opened it slowly. Nobody. Only her futon was there. Well his futon, she borrowed it but it was his... I guess it's hers too if she lives here... Those thoughts reminded him of her tangible absence from his world too, only leaving behind a few clues. Everything in his room felt vacant and too big. Shaking his head, he closed the closet door again and was about to get out of his room. But just for a moment, he glanced at his windows. She's good, I haven't seen her since. He allowed himself one more thought about her. "Doesn't she ever go out without me?!" He shouted the rhetorical question to himself. He knew she did, obviously. He wondered how likely it was for the two of them to meet randomly.

"Whatever, I'm not wasting another morning on that idiot!" He turned his head away from the windows. "Today I'll..." he shouted, full of confidence, but then realized he wasn't sure what to do. Maybe call up some friends. But they'll all ask where Lum is. It was another part of his life that she had taken over. And he didn't need anyone to remind him of her grasp on his life; he was doing that himself. Girl-hunting... going on a date... The idea of a date seemed good enough, but girl-hunting... Aargh! "How can I go on a date if I can't girl-hunt?!" He thought about calling some names from his notebook, but the drive wasn't there; he convinced himself there was no point. He resolved that he needed something else. "I'll just go to the park, whatever." He walked out of his room, still thinking about it, wondering what he'd do there. Taking a nap could help a bit, probably. If he could dream, maybe she would be in them...

Entering the dining room, he was quickly snapped back to reality when he saw his father already reading the newspaper. He woke up so early that breakfast wasn't completely ready. "Good morning!" he said, sitting down to face his father.

"You've been waking up early, Ataru." his mother noted in a monotonous tone, not giving him a glance as she was still busy getting everything ready. "I hope you're not doing something weird again."

"Can't I just have better habits?!" Ataru yelled back

"Did a girl ask you to do that?" She asked, not impressed for one second.

"I'm doing that for myself! Self-improvment!" He shouted, crossing his arms.

Bringing the rice container to the table, she sighted as she served everyone their bowl "You get sick for three days, disappear for one, and now all this talk." She added while giving him his bowl. She wondered if Lum's absence caused this sudden change of behavior. It was unusual to Ataru to get affected so much by one, singular girl.

Ataru thanked her for the meal and started eating, ignoring her plea. They knew Lum wasn't around the house much, but he ignored the topic completely. If he dared argue, they could bring the topic back up.

"Anyway, dad!" He said, finishing his bowl. "How's the sk-"

"Clear sky for 3 days, high chance of shooting stars Tuesday." His father replied before his son could finish asking. He's been asking everyday ever since he disappeared a few days ago. had no idea what was his reasoning, but he seemed eager to know so he delivered each time.

"Tuesday, huh..." Ataru paused, staring down at his bowl. "Thanks for the delicious meal!" He shouted, standing up. He was about to leave, but his mother called him again.

"Ataru! You barely ate!"

"I'm not hungry!" He argued. "Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"One more thing!" She yelled.

Ataru, again, stopped in his tracks and turned around, frowning. "What?"

"Could you call Lum and tell her about the forecast?" She casually asked. "She wanted to know, too."

"L-Lum?" He was taken aback. He was about to complain about how annoying she was. But, his sole drive this morning has been her, right? He's been waking up early to be able to check on the forecast. Awaiting the day the shooting stars would fall. All for her. – No, not really. It would have been better if it were just a favor, but he knew it was more than that. It was for himself too. He wanted an excuse to see her and hear her voice again. To spend time together. "You saw her?"

"She was flying around while I was out shopping." She reminisced. "She seemed happy, dumping you was a good choice." She added. "Oh, and she asked about you, too."

"She didn't dump me! You're my mother, don't say things like that!" He angrily yelled. "What did she say anyway?"

Not moved one bit by his yelling, she replied calmly. "She asked how you'd been." She took some of the miso sauce. "I told her you were doing nothing at home, obviously." She sighed. "Then she asked me about the forecast, I told her you've been asking too, and that made her laugh. "Since I don't have her phone number, you're the only one who can tell her."

This idiot... "Fine, I'll do it." He waved, rushing back. Why did she ask Mom? I said I'd do it. "Now what?" He was in the hallways if his house, standing there, fixating on the phone in front of him.

Far above him, the Oni was also well awake, on her bed. She lay on her stomach, swaying her feet while holding her head with her hands. Her mind was wandering around. The topic of her thoughts was obvious as a big smile was drawn on her face. Darling... It was hard staying up there. Away from him. It has been so boring.

Lum reminisced about her meeting with her stepmother a few days ago. While she was flying around aimlessly, looking all over Tomobiki imagining how dates at certains place would look like. She spotted her going home from one of her usual shopping trip.

"Mother!" Lum called, descending. She stopped in front of her, still floating with a big smile on her face.

"Ah! Lum!" She was the only girl that would willingly calls her that. "It's been weeks since I've seen you, have you been doing well?" She smiled back, putting the bags she was carrying down.

Lum nodded cheerfully. "Mhm, everything's fine! You look great too, mother." She flew in a circle around her. "How's Darling doing?"

Poor girl, she must have forgotten his name. Ataru's mother sighed. "He's been sick and snoozing up at home ever since you left him." She paused for a second. "What a pitiful son." She whispered, placing an hand in front of mouth out of embarassement.

Not getting what she meant by 'left him', Lum continued, cheerful about the news. "Really?" She clapped her hand, but quickly realized it wasn't the best reaction to have when hearing that your husband was feeling down. "I'm sure it'll go away soon enough!" Lum chuckled. Just call me, Darling!

"Even so." Mrs. Morobishi closed her eyes. "Don't feel too much pity for him, Lum." She warned her.

"I don't! I'm not worried about Darling!" She smiled, also misinterpreting what she meant. "Mother, I wanted to ask, do you know about falling stars?" Lum placed her hands behind her back and leaned toward her.

"Falling stars?" She looked down. "Ataru has been asking about that too for a few days. I really don't get it." She noticed, scratching her nose and glancing at the beaming Lum. Could it be something they're planning? Could Ataru be this thoughtful? "But I don't know, I usually sleep at night anyway."

Lum's smile grew wider. She brushed it off at first with a small giggle. "That's okay, thank you!" She started floating up. "I really need to go, see you soon, mother!" She waved and quickly flew up, away from everyone.

As soon as she reached the sky, she did multiple loops. "Yahoo! Darling's in love!". Somehow, her body fell even lighter than ever. It felt like she could fly faster now, the weights of doubt vanishing away.

As the memories ended, Lum opened her eyes again. This was a few days ago now. And yet there were no calls. Lum was getting a bit impatient. Is it that rare on Earth? She wondered at first. "Maybe Darling's really too shy to call..." He had no reason to call. She had checked every night, and the sky had always been cloudy for now. I'm thinking too much. She smiled to herself, slowly floating up and heading toward the main room of the UFO.

Landing on her usual chair, she looked up at the screen. "No missed call." Not today either... For a second, Lum felt some regrets about choosing to stay up here. It was her own idea, she couldn't blame it on anyone but herself. And she knew it did wonders. It helped her Darling understand that he does miss her. But it also helped her, Lum realized how much she also really enjoyed being simply with him. Apart from them being married, it was just enjoyable. For some reason, it truly felt different than with anyone else. even if he could be an idiot sometimes. He's really entertaining. And she truly felt like she could be herself with him. Sure, they disagreed and fought over lots of things, but she always loved a bit of spice. And the many arguments they had on dumb stuff added to this different feeling. As is they knew each others for years. They could argue about rocks and Lum would consider that a precious memory. So now, being away from him. Life felt dull. She never minded being away from him before, because she'd know when she'd get home, even at night, he'd still be awake until she came home. He'd always find excuses, of course. But she could hear his voice. But now, the future was uncertain, she didn't know when she'd be able to feel his warmth again. If she decided to just go back now, everything would be in vain. All was in Ataru's hands. She sighed with a smile. When will the starry sky appear before them again?

Turning on her chair, she thought about what to do now. "Today looks sunny, I should hang at the park!" She motivated herself. She headed toward her room again, wanting to dress up a little.

Standing in front of the phone, Ataru clearly wasn't as certain anymore. He was now dressed and had his notebook in hand. Lum's number was still here, ready to call whenever. "Why am I searching for excuses? It's just Lum!" He yelled at himself. "Whatever I do, she'll interpret it in her favor anyway." He argued.

Passing from the dining room to the kitchen, Ataru's mother noticed her son. "Ataru! What are you doing?"

"Nothing! I'm about to call Lum!" He replied quickly.

"If you're that embarrassed, I'll call her myself. But don't stand around like that." She said this while passing from the kitchen to the living room.

"I was just looking at other girls numbers; that's it, leave me alone!" He cried, looking straight at Lum's number in the notebook.

His mother gave him a perplexed glare as she looked at him for a second. Then she went back to her usual chores. What a strange boy she has.

At the same time, Lum just entered the main room again, stretching. Now wearing casual human clothes. With one last check-up on the UFO, she was ready to go. But not before a young Oni made a surprise appearance, having just woken up.

"Good morning..." Ten scratched his eye. "Aah Lum-chan, you're going out?" The snoozy Oni asked.

She smiled. "Oh, good morning, Ten!" She grabbed him. "Mhm, I'm going to the park, do you want to come?"

"Is that idiot Ataru, going to be there?" He slowly questionned his cousin, seemingly completely waken up.

She shook her head. "No, no, I have no idea what's Darling up to!" She smiled weakly. Looking back toward the screen. Maybe, if fate wanted to...

Ten thought about it for a second. With how popular the park is and how often Ataru would go there to girl hunt or snooze usually... "No, thank you." He bowed.

"Alright, you know where to find me if you need me then!" She let go of him as he started to float again.

She was about to jump down toward Tomobiki. Her mind was still filled with thoughts about him, but she resolved that today should be another day without him, that she should think about something else. She wondered why she picked the park... Could Darling really be there? Was it why she chose it? Lum stood there, motionless. It was hard. Even if she forced herself she couldn't stop but daydream about what he was up to, and if it was really the right call to play with him like this. Lum wasn't used of thinking so much like this. But when away from her darling, all she could do to be with him is think hard. Suddenly, her screen lit up. Ten yelped in surprise, but Lum froze. Turning toward it slowly, the name on the screen was what she was hoping for: the Moroboshi Residence Darling's calling. She quickly flew toward the screen, falling on the chair, and taking a deep breath to hide her over-excitement, she answered the call.

"Hello?" The voice begun with excitement in its tone.