•••

10 YEARS LATER

Sebastian took my hand. He pulled it closer. He kissed it. And then I wake up.

I do not know why the hell I keep having those dreams. Dreams are pieces of memory that are stored so well, so deep inside, that we only remember them at night. By my side there is nothing but the bed, empty. Oliver has already left. He goes away as soon as I fall asleep, every night. That's because he works too hard... Things have changed a lot.

During Oliver's leadership, the Arians from Oxygen building and the US government were together against the Rebels. The relationship between the two groups of Arians was tense. For their part, the normal citizens from Los Angeles had to leave their houses because of Peter Filthy's refusal to peace. The city was evacuated from any soul except by us and them - which resulted in threats, enmity and headaches. This happened one year after Doctor Gene's mind loss. The sense of mutual distrust between Oliver and Peter only increased; in a way, I realized, they both plan to control the world. Meanwhile little Gene came to be the US president - I still remember his propaganda, showing a young face and making sure people believed he would end up with us Arians, because we have ended with him as well. Oliver was mad as hell but as soon the election was over Gene subdued and said that what we perceived was still the same thing: Peter's breakdown, so we kept together because the government was useful to making international deals. In such a way, all other countries were with us but had long been afraid of the Rebels' blood-thirsty rule.

Everything was very tense in our day-life. The atmosphere had changed as well, the outside temperature raised and water became scarce. Even though we had almost no physical conflicts, both groups of Arians suffered from hunger and invisible threats that never ended, and in general this means our work has doubled in size. Not that I should complain about my position. Being 24/7 at disposal up here is an honor.

Bridgette Clay was the one who made the division. Remember her? Big boobs, long hair, wearing glasses? She gets Oliver to accept whatever idea she wants with a glance. The division was somehow simple: Whoever is useful stays on the upper floors, who is not is usually thrown into smaller jobs and thus separated from us. I have lived here since he pulled me up to the throne with him. And my routine has been relatively nice around these relevant people.

He gives me everything ordinary people can not have, like clothes and perfumes that no longer exist in the market because its factories were closed or bombed. He even orders dressmakers to embroider butterflies hidden in each of my dresses, because I like butterflies. Sometimes we need a little childish actions to make the day complete.

A magnet noise comes from the head of the bed. Soon, Oliver's voice erupts out. "Does food means something to you, woman?!"

Relatively cute routine except for my boss' crises of bipolarity. I get my pants on the desk. Underneath it I see the jacket Oliver was wearing yesterday; it is from soft brown leather. The noise noises again.

"Angel!"

"I'm going!!" - A snort. From my part, of course, because he must be with important people and can not snort in front of them.

•••
🔸🔸🔸

Sebastian

"The operation took 1 and a half hour, general anesthesia, 20 cm incision, from the back. The staples are going to be removed 10-14 days after surgery. Ah, note: the X ray is broken, don't forget to warn that fixer-up man"

Tchof!- Billy's notebook falls from his lap with so much scratching. "Yes yes, sir. What - what was that thing you used to close the deeper tissues?"

"Sutures, made of a material that the body eventually absorbs, while the uppermost layer of skin is closed with the staples you saw."

"Oh, yes yes."

Someone knocks on the door, opening a gap. "Doctor Castle? The breakfast, sir, you are going to be late."

"Thanks, don't let them begin without me." I force a smile 100% forced. Then I turn to Billy. "You are a clever boy, Billy. Maybe I'll even steal a dessert for you today."

"It would be awesome, sir." He smiled broadly, and his smile wasn't fake at all.

🔸🔸🔸

It is customary for me to wait for my friend Kennedy near the elevator so we can go up together. Despite of being almost engaged to Aleksei Novgorod, Kennedy never wanted to move with him to the upper floors. That's because her greatest passion is medicine, and the internees are at the first floor, just like all her colleagues.

They say Aleksei fell in love with Kennedy when a new weapon of some sort he was making exploded and he had to amputate his leg. But then Snowfields said that if we didn't save the whole him - including the damn leg - we would have no dinner; and then we had to find a way. Kennedy was the most sweet and humored during the surgery. And after a few days she received an official letter inviting her to have breakfast up there every Sunday. She had the right to a companion, a permanent companion to take with, and I did everything to be the chosen one.

"Good morning, doctor Castle..."

"Good morning, doctor Kennedy..."

"Ready for another Sunday?"

It took me a while to find the answer.

"...Yes"

"You have to shave. You look like a furry orange fox."

"And your hair looks like your bedroom's tamble lamp."

"My lampshade gives light to everything."

"And foxes are cute."

The elevator opens the doors and we are attacked by the most diverse smells and scents of breakfast as possible. My stomach, awake since 5 in the morning, grunts loudly. Like a fox. Not cute.

We sit at our customary table, and I observe the people I haven't talked with in almost a decade. My first girlfriend Anna (now director of poisons and chemicals), my fighting partner Frank (now working directly with Snowfields), a few colleagues I've met at the Finder training, my Finder herself (I've heard Bridgette used to sleep with the boss but that's just gossip) and other familiar faces, once known too much and now make no difference in my life. Kennedy's boyfriend is settled on the right side of Snowfields. They are talking not as good friends, but as boss-and-employee. He is impeccable as fuck, which stresses me, but if I say I don't like him out loud, or even in Kennedy's ear, I might be thrown to the dinosaurs.

I keep thinking about dinosaurs for a moment.

"There is something I need to tell you, Sebastian." Kennedy speaks.

I grinned slightly to create a comfortable atmosphere.

"Aleksei has proposed." She says.

My grin falls.

"Yes..." she bites her lip. "and I think you're going to help me choose a good dress, as my best man."

"Oh" - that's all I say; and my eyes unconsciously move to the spot immediately next to Oliver, which boasts an empty chair.

"I know what you're thinking," she continues. "I am going to move in a few months, and there will be a great chance of us not seeing each other again... but I talked with Aleksei about this, and he agreed of letting me see you and our pack."

"Uhum"

"Are you happy? At least a little?"

"I'm super happy for you, Kennedy. For real." I say to her.

She opens a huge smile and hugs me, like that, out of a sudden. "Thank you..."

Something starts going on inside and I just breath normally when she is back in her seat, taking a sip of my juice because hers is over already. Keep cool, Sebastian Castle. Just keep c-

And then she enters. And she walks through the tables holding a little something. And she is wearing a dress with stripes, black and white, black and white, black and white, as though directly from classic tapes. And her hair is longer than I remembered, because last week it was tied, and today is jumping behind her like hairs usually do. The something inside comes back stronger than ever. Because the past is always present no matter how much we try to move on. And maybe, just maybe, she is the reason I persuaded Kennedy to bring me in each of these horrible breakfasts.