February.
In the present timeline.
Almost a month after the events in Aegea. While roughly a year and a half had passed there, we found ourselves sitting beneath what looked like a cherry blossom tree… from a completely different era.
"Peace at last…" she muttered, leaning her head against my shoulder as I stared out at the lake in front of us, surrounded by cherry blossom trees in every direction.
Petals drifted down like feathers, sending gentle ripples across the lake's still surface.
"Yeah…"
I nodded slightly, resting my cheek on top of her head as I slowly closed my eyes.
A moment of silence passed.
"Though…" I opened one eye. "Was taking us to feudal-era Japan really necessary?"
In the distance, women in traditional clothing walked along the pathways beside the lake.
"It's only for a short while," she replied, her eyes still closed.
"Right…" A quiet sigh slipped from my lips. "I completely forgot you could take us back in time as well…"
The breeze brushed gently against our skin, cool air drifting past as her hair fanned across my lap.
After a short while, the scenery shifted.
We were back at the beach where we'd first spent our vacation over twenty years ago.
Waves lapped against the shore as we sat beneath a tree, just beside the ruins of the small wooden house she'd created back then. A few pieces of wood still clung to the frame, weathered by time.
"Do you still remember the first time I confessed?"
Her voice cut softly through the quiet.
"You mean the time you tried hiding everything because you were scared I'd find out who you really are?"
Anathasia didn't reply immediately. Her hand rested on her lap as she slowly opened her eyes.
For a moment, she simply stared out at the sea, leaning her head against my shoulder as we watched the waves roll in.
Another silence passed.
"You know…" she finally said, her voice quieter now. "I actually tried convincing myself…"
I glanced down at her, but said nothing. Just listened.
"That I'd be fine if you didn't choose me in the end."
"That I'd be yours… until you found someone you really wanted to spend your life with."
The sound of the waves seemed to fade, as if the world had narrowed down to just the two of us.
"That I probably deserved it… for not answering you sooner in the previous era."
She let out a soft breath, pressing herself a little closer.
Slowly, Anathasia lifted her head, our eyes meeting.
"I really thought I'd be fine with it. Maybe… I was just immature. Or maybe I didn't fully understand what we had back then…"
A faint smile touched her lips as she reached up, gently cupping my cheek.
"But it turns out… I was just trying to avoid getting hurt. Just like how you tried to pull away years ago."
"And before I knew it… I was already too deep into what we had."
As I watched her, something stirred deep in my chest. Something I couldn't quite put into words.
But instead of acting on it…
I simply placed my hand over hers, brushing my thumb lightly over her knuckles as I smiled.
"So… we were both idiots back then, huh…"
She laughed softly, shaking her head.
"Kinda…" She trailed off.
"But honestly… I'm not even sure when it started," she murmured, resting her forehead against my chest.
"I can't really put it into words…"
"…But when I brought up marriage back then—and saw that look on your face…"
She paused, swallowing slightly.
"I was scared… terrified, even."
Anathasia hesitated, then let out another quiet sigh as my other hand continued to rub her back gently.
Slowly, she lifted her head to look at me, her smile softening.
"Really…"
"I wasn't afraid of losing you to death… or to an end."
Her gaze wavered slightly.
"I was afraid of seeing you… and not being with you."
She brought a hand to her chest, clutching the fabric as it crumpled under her grip.
"So I grew desperate… I hoped that if I revealed everything, you wouldn't leave. That you'd still choose me."
A small breath escaped her.
"I'm not perfect… so I was terrified you'd pull away. The only thing I could do was hope…"
Her fingers brushed gently against my cheek as she continued.
"And now… I don't regret telling you everything."
"I'd rather live with the consequences—"
"—than write a happy ending that only fits what I want. Something artificial."
She slowly leaned into me, wrapping her arms around my waist as she buried her face against my stomach.
"So… thank you."
A small pause.
"For choosing me."
In that moment, I held her close. A faint smile tugged at my lips as I gently stroked her hair, watching the strands slip between my fingers before leaning down to press a soft kiss against the top of her head.
"That should be me thanking you,"
"Idiot…"
—
Minutes later, the two of us were walking through the park where we used to hang out during our college days.
"They cut down the trees, huh…"
"For development purposes, apparently," I replied with a shrug as I walked beside her.
She continued looking around, her gaze eventually landing on a concrete bench with a dead tree trunk standing behind it.
We both stopped beside it.
Anathasia bent down slightly, brushing the leaves off the surface. Cracks spread across it like a web, but it still looked sturdy enough.
At least, sturdy enough to hold her as she sat down.
She glanced up at me, her eyes lighting up.
"Dude… it's still completely fine even after two decades."
"They probably used some heavy-duty cement or something," I shrugged, my eyes drifting toward the newer benches scattered around the park. Some of them, despite being more modern, already showed signs of wear.
Shaking my head, I turned back to her, casually nudging her legs as she sat on the bench.
"It's been ages since we took a walk around this place," she said, tilting her head slightly with a small smile.
"Hasn't it?"
I nodded, crossing my arms as I glanced around the park.
"Mhm."
"But we can now, can't we?"
She slowly stood up, dusting off her skirt before stretching her arms over her head.
"Work, children, finances…" Anathasia muttered, counting on her fingers before looking back at me.
"We never really had that many chances to just… laze around these past ten years, huh…"
"More or less," I replied, starting to walk as we headed toward our next stop, about thirty minutes away.
"Being an adult does come with more responsibilities."
I shot her a glance.
"But I never really hated it."
A small smile formed on my lips as I reached over and gently pinched her cheek.
"I had you and the girls, after all."
—
A while later, we found ourselves standing just outside the gates of NGSU.
Both of us stared, wide-eyed, at the tall building now standing in the middle of the campus.
"Kyle…" she spoke first. "That wasn't there back then, was it?"
I nodded quickly.
"Yeah… and to think our alumni reunion is only a few months away…"
She raised an eyebrow, glancing at me.
"We're going to have a reunion…? How come I never knew about that?"
I turned to her, rubbing my temple with a sigh.
"It was more like a brief notification in our group chat."
I pulled out my phone, the screen lighting up as I scrolled through the pinned messages.
"Here."
Tilting her head slightly, she took my phone, her eyes scanning through the message Robert had sent a few weeks ago.
"Hm…" She gave a small nod before handing it back, her gaze drifting across the campus again.
"Alumni, huh…"
Anathasia turned to meet my eyes.
"It's not really mandatory, is it?"
"Nah," I shook my head lightly. "We could just skip it. I'm not really into social events anyway."
A brief pause.
We looked at each other. Then both gave a small nod.
"What excuse do you have in mind?" she asked, crossing her arms as we started walking back toward our place.
My gaze lowered slightly as I hummed.
"I'm not sure… maybe some urgent business? Though we might get badmouthed if we use that."
Anathasia nodded in agreement as we walked side by side, both of us deep in thought.
Before I realized it, we were already just a few steps away from our house. Just like back then.
She stepped onto the porch first, then suddenly stopped and turned toward me, her eyes practically sparkling.
"We could just say we can't make it because we're visiting some old friends."
I tilted my head slightly, raising an eyebrow.
"And… those friends would be…?"
"Rania and Roselia," she replied with a small, proud huff.
"Besides, we do need to check on them at least once, right?"
She crossed her arms, nodding to herself.
"It's been over a year there anyway… and we should probably make sure Roselia isn't giving Rania too much trouble."