Marc's eyes drifted to a bright red leaf gently losing its grip on a branch. It broke slowly and then floated down gracefully onto the ground below. The trees outside Francesco's cabin were bursting with autumn colors, while a light breeze swirled through the air. The days of summer had come to an end.

Marc placed his hands in his pocket and kicked a spare pebble as he returned back up the porch to the large cabin in front of him. Marc had just returned from an afternoon walk, which he felt was necessary with all the stress of wedding planning.

As he stepped back up the porch and opened the door, there was a sound of glee.

"Daddy!" Elijah cried, rushing toward Marc with a grin on his face.

Marc bent down to pick up the child and laughed.

"You're getting a bit too heavy for me to carry," he told the child. Elijah would be coming up on his fifth birthday soon, moving away from his chubby toddler phase into a scrawny—and heavier—kid.

He brushed Elijah's hair out of his face, realizing he would need a haircut soon. He would bring it up to Cassie after the wedding, he supposed. Elijah grinned widely at him, as if he had not experienced any of the hell that had occurred in the past months. Marc wished for the naiveté of a child.

They had taken him to Irene's grave, once, in the spring, though Elijah seemed more confused and frightened than anything else. Marc had returned on his own to the cemetery since then to plant some flowers' at his parents' symbolic grave. Slowly, they were all recovering from the battle that had occurred the past winter.

Marc squeezed Elijah's arm slightly before setting him back down.

He and Cassie were already in the adoption process. Elijah had lost both of his biological parents in battle, and his grandparents and aunts and uncles had either been killed or placed in prison. That only left custody to some distant cousins, who wanted nothing to do with the child. Due to the mass amount of orphans that had resulted from the battle, the new Council had been more lenient on their adoption protocol, as they wanted to place kids in homes as soon as possible.

Once he and Cassie were married, Elijah would officially be their son. And Marc would officially be a father. He was both nervous and excited about the experience. Elijah was a fun, loving kid thus far. Marc only hoped he would remain that way long into the future.

It pained him slightly to know Irene would not to get to watch Elijah to continue to grow, but he was going to try to raise him as best as he could for her sake. Marc had never been extremely close with Irene, but they had been a small family for a bit when he was younger. He felt he owed it to her memory to raise her son right.

"Marc, Cassie wants help outside," Lillian called as she walked in with an empty basket. She had been making table placements outside in the backyard. She walked with a barely noticeable limp these days and had completely recovered from her injuries in battle. She acted more like herself these days as well. Gone were the days of her hiding in her room, mourning over Irene. There were still days when she was on and off, but for the most part, Lillian always had a smile on her face. Who could blame her? The Preservers were gone, and they were all free to live their lives.

"Come on. Let's see if you can help at all," Marc said, grabbing onto Elijah's hand as they headed outside.

The backyard had been transformed into a wedding venue. Tables were scattered on the lawn close to the porch for the reception while the actual chairs and traditional wedding arch were closer to the edge of the woods. Cassie was walking around outside with her mother, checking off details and finishing up the necessary requirements. Their wedding would be tomorrow afternoon, and there was still a lot to do.

"Mommy!" Elijah called, running down the porch steps to greet her. He squeezed around her legs tightly, interrupting her from her conversation with her mother. Marc followed behind, giving his future wife a weak smile as an apology.

Cassie seemed not to care, only smiling in response. She looked well now that she had fully recovered from the battle. It had taken more time than Marc had figured for her to get out of bed and start getting back to normal life again. Her limbs were weak, as the Guardians' possession had done damage on them, but she was moving normally again and looked just as bright and beautiful as she always did.

"What did you need help for?" Marc wondered.

"Can you and Mitsuki grab some more chairs from the basement? We're a few short," Cassie said.

The wedding itself was going to be rather small, with those at the cabin, some other allies, and Cassie's family. Conny had been in a particularly good mood because Carly had accepted his request to attend the wedding. He'd been nervously pacing the halls all week in preparation of asking her.

"I got it," Marc said, heading back up the porch steps. Mitsuki was lounging on the couch, speaking with her brother, who had now been a resident of the cabin for nine months. He was a bit more quiet than Marc realized, but he also let drop a bit of dry humor every now and again that made the others laugh and reminded them who Eiji was related to.

"Mitsuki, we have to get more chairs," Marc said.

She let out a groan, muttering a quick apology to her brother before getting up. They had become closer over the months, particularly after she had come to Marc for advice when Lillian had been unresponsive. She hadn't been as vulnerable since, but she still counted on Marc for a good time every now and again.

"Have you decided on your honeymoon?" Mitsuki teased as they moved downstairs to the basement.

"I already said, we're not going on one. It's too much with the new house already," Marc explained.

"Oh, that's right. When are you moving?"

"End of the month," Marc replied. While Cherie had no issues with her guests remaining in the cabin, some of the older residents were getting antsy to move out, he and Cassie especially. Cherie was happy to help them with her financial needs, considering she had inherited Francesco's wealth on top of her own. She had helped them purchase a house in the suburbs, where Cassie's family lived. Marc had asked Cassie if she would have a problem living too near her family. They were living only in the next neighborhood over. But Cassie had been happy to have them close again.

"It's going to be weird not having you guys here," Mitsuki admitted as she went down the steps.

"What about you and Lillian? Weren't you looking at moving out?" Marc wondered.

"Yeah, but I also need to think about Eiji too," Mitsuki said as she lifted some spare chairs. "Lillian said it's fine if he lives with us for a while, but I'm not sure I can handle him living with us, honestly."

"Well, you were looking at apartment complexes, weren't you? Maybe he can get his own apartment in the same complex," Marc suggested. He swooped a few more chairs under his arms.

Mitsuki pondered this for a moment. "Yeah, we've thought about it. Lillian and I weren't planning to move out until the new year though. As well as job hunt. Yuck."

Marc chuckled. One of the downsides of losing the connection to the Guardians for the time being was that they needed to adjust to normal life. There were some jobs helping reconstruct the spiritkeeper government, but those were far in few in between (though Conny had somehow managed to snag one). Marc wasn't sure what exactly he wanted to do, but he had already applied to a few jobs here and there. Cassie wanted to return to her studies and had already signed up for classes at the community college. She wanted to get into work eventually, but she figured she would focus on her education and caring for Elijah first.

"I think it will be fun living as a normal civilian for once," Marc told Mitsuki as they headed back upstairs.

Mitsuki only grumbled in response. They came back outside, carrying the extra chairs Cassie had requested. She happily thanked them and got back to work, assigning Marc and the others to a few more tasks. Needless to say, he was starving when Cherie prepared dinner that night.

The table had to be extended to accommodate all the guests. Carly had returned in the afternoon, though she was only going to be staying for a day, much to Conny's dismay. Cassie's entire family took up multiple seats and ate happily with the others.

"To think this all started when Cassie came to the cabin all those years ago," Cherie told Marc. She was a bit too giddy about the wedding, probably from the multiple drinks she had already consumed.

"Save the speeches for tomorrow," Marc begged quietly. He had barely had time to speak to Cassie during the day since they had been so busy with preparations. Even at the dinner, she was sitting closer to her family and conversing with them rather than him.

After plates had been cleared, Marc headed upstairs, guessing Cassie would come up to bed eventually. Before he could, however, there was a pst, and Conny was motioning Marc toward his bedroom.

Marc curiously entered, watching in surprise as Conny shut the door behind his brother.

"What is it?" Marc asked.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" Conny asked.

"Is that why you asked me to come in here?" Marc wondered.

"I'm your best man, after all, so I thought I could calm your nerves through some conversation," Conny stated. "Plus, we haven't had much time to speak lately, what with my new job and all that."

"Congratulations again, by the way. Do you think you'll move closer so you don't have to commute as far?" Marc wondered.

"Maybe. I'll have come to visit you when you get settled too," Conny said. "But seriously, how are you doing?"

"I'm nervous, I guess," Marc answered frankly. "But I'm ready. It's been a year since I've proposed so...we're both ready."

"I'm happy for you two," Conny said, a gentle smile on his face.

"I'm sure you're overjoyed Carly is here," Marc murmured.

Conny quietly nodded. "I wish she could stay longer, but she needs to make sure her parents are taken care of."

"Still no official relationship, then?"

"Not really," Conny answered. "But we still write frequently, and I think now that I have a license, I can drive to her every now and again. Maybe next year we can finally start dating."

"I hope it works out. She seems like a nice girl," Marc said. He glanced at the clock hanging in Conny's room, realizing it was growing late. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, then?"

"Try to get some rest," Conny said. "I know you'll probably be too excited to sleep."

"Shut up," Marc grumbled as he exited his brother's bedroom. He paused for a moment, smiling slightly, before walking back to his bedroom. He was surprised to find Cassie lying in bed already. She looked as if she was dozing with the light on when Marc came in.

"You can go back to sleep," he told her as he began getting ready for bed himself.

"Mm...but I wanted to talk to you," she murmured sleepily as she shifted her body in bed.

Marc chuckled. "Give me a few minutes," he said, practically rushing through his nightly routine to climb into bed with her. He moved to his side of the bed and crawled in, feeling Cassie press against his warm body.

Those two and a half weeks she had been in a coma were still the scariest weeks in his life, even more so than the weeks after his parents had died. He was sure he would have to say good-bye, would have to bury her, and explain to her parents how he hadn't been able to protect her. He was glad she had suffered no major injuries and had made a full recovery. It seemed so strange that they were finally getting married. Only a year ago, when he first proposed, it had seemed like a distant dream, but now that dream was coming true. 

"How are you?" Cassie murmured.

Marc laughed slightly. "Fine, and you?"

"Kind of stressed."

"It'll be fine. It's just a small backyard wedding," he assured her, though he was a bit nervous himself.

"I mean, with moving too and officially adopting Elijah and—"

Marc cut her off with a kiss. "I can't believe you still find reason to stress over the tiniest things. We defeated the Preservers together. That should have been the biggest stress."

"I guess you're right," Cassie said, snuggling up closer to him. He gently ran a hand up and down her back, excited for the day when they would have a house of their own. Cassie's breathing had grown deeper, and he assumed she had fallen asleep after a long day.

He practically jumped when she resumed speaking.

"Marc?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really happy right now," Cassie murmured, staring up at him.

"Me too," Marc said, leaning his head forward to kiss her. It still felt exhilarating doing it for the thousandth time.

"Hard to believe I used to hate your guts," Cassie joked.

"You didn't used to hate me, did you?" Marc asked.

"Mm...maybe just a little bit," Cassie teased.

"You used to piss me off all the time, too," Marc admitted.

"Oh, shut up. You probably shouldn't be telling me this stuff when we're about to get married tomorrow," Cassie said.

"You don't frustrate me now," Marc said, before adding, "only a little bit."

Cassie reached for a spare pillow and hit him with it.

"Ooh, is this our first husband and wife fight?" Marc wondered before the pillow smacked into his face. He snatched the pillow from Cassie, gently hitting her with it.

Cassie giggled as the pillow made contact. He had not heard her laugh so freely in a long time. She truly did seem happy. As was Marc. He only wished his parents had been alive to see him get married.

Marc tossed the pillow aside, cuddling close to Cassie again.

"I think it's time for bed, wouldn't you say?"

Cassie nodded, pressing her head close to his chest. "Good night. I love you."

Marc's lips gently touched her forehead. "I love you, too."