What if it's you, and what if it's me,

and what if that's all that we need it to be?

And the rest of the world falls away.

What do you say?

~ Lyrics from "Only Us" from "Dear Evan Hansen" ~

~ around ten years after the events of Prophecy ~

Peak expected the airplane ride to be a lot more like dragon flying. Then again, he hadn't gone dragon riding in a very long time, so his memory might be a bit off. Turbulence jostled the plane a bit, but it didn't resemble the steady up and down of dragon flying. Peak wasn't that uneasy during his flight. The brewing in his stomach was mostly due to the fluttering of his nerves, due to the excitement that lay ahead.

     "Attention passengers: please fasten your seatbelts. We will be descending into Skylor's Island shortly."

     Peak glanced out of the window to see the bright island slowly getting closer. Leafy trees dotted the edges of a vast civilization. He had a hard time believing it'd only sprung up a few years before he was born. Then again, he was a full-grown adult now. A time before his birth was a very long time ago.

     The passengers around him were more than happy to get back onto steady land. Peak only felt a twist in his heart when the solid earth greeted him again. It hadn't been as hard as he imagined to go without elemental power for so long, however, he supposed it was the memories of it that brought back the grief. He hadn't seen all of his old friends together in such a long time. Shade was gone, Morro had a third child on the way, and Storm and Carmen were living it up somewhere. They traveled all across Ninjago, sending postcards at every destination they visited. And Peak hadn't seen Aureole since Morro's wedding. She was far away, trapped on her parents' island, devoting her life to the business he wasn't sure she wanted to keep. The steady ground, the earth, the memories of times he used to control it, they all brought back an entire swarm of remembrances. Some were cherished, others weren't.

     Peak saw his mother's face light up when he practiced in front of her, he saw the triplets gripping him tightly as they wailed before his mother's grave, snakes flying, cannonballs falling, excruciating pain ripping the elemental power straight out of his being.

     He blinked, and he was getting out of a taxi, standing in front of the biggest property on the island. Chen's Noodle House. It was a massive structure with more design elements than he cared to take in, standing as the sole reason Skylor's Island existed. It held both the corporate offices and the factory of the whole company, standing as the instigator of the economy of the island.

     A group of staff members helped Peak carry his bags inside. He gaped at the ornate walls and ceilings, feeling quite like a strange amongst it all. It took him a second to remember why he was here in the first place.

     The last few years hadn't exactly been easy for Peak's family, but when had their lives ever been easy?

     Cole slaved away at the Phantom Dojo, eventually choosing a successor so he could return to a career of lumberjacking. He confided with Peak that the forest gave him great joy, so of course Peak supported this decision. Even if it meant finally moving on from his mother's old dojo. The triplets grew in both spirit and body, becoming rambunctious young adults who captured the hearts of their entire college. Avery had at least ten different friends over every week, Yuki had won the city-wide championship for chess, and Lilly was one of the most talented soccer players Peak had seen.

     And Peak, Peak had finally obtained all the degrees he needed to start his dream career. He'd always wanted to be a doctor. It was a passion only stirred by his mother's passing. Peak often thought during the initial stages of grief that if only he knew how to treat illness, then perhaps his mother wouldn't have died. Later he came to understand that he was too young then to have done anything, but the idea had settled into his soul. If he could become a doctor once his whole 'elemental master of earth' career was over, then perhaps he could keep other families from losing their loved ones.

     Peak had worked hard in school after helping to save the world, and now the only thing left for him to do was apprentice himself under a more skilled physician. At first Zane offered to train him, but Peak declined. He had been given an offer over on Skylor's Island, and he knew the growing civilization still needed personnel to run it. As sad as Cole was at this news, he supported his son the best he could. Peak made the triplets promise to look out for each other before he left.

     He hadn't even been gone a full day, and he missed them all already.

     His father's smile. Avery's laughter. Yuki's contemplations. Lilly's quiet optimism. Mother's memory, holding them all together.

     His beloved family.

     "You've gotten taller," Kai commented, breaking Peak out of his stupor. Peak was standing the midst of a large foyer, surrounded by bustling employees moving towards their next tasks for the day. Peak looked at his uncle-figure, then at the stoic daughter beside him, then at the ornate columns and banners that were strung around the room. It was still so hard to believe all of this was here, that all of this was real. Part of Peak always felt like it was stuck in the past.

    Shade's deep laugh. Morro's shy observations. Carmen's chatter, Storm's jokes, Noria's silence. Aureole's pained expressions.

     His beloved friends.

     She still had it, after all of this time, that discomfort hidden behind a placid face. Aureole wanted to appear professional, but behind it all there would always be regret. Peak didn't know what he was expecting when his gaze returned to her. He only remembered being struck again, as if she were an entirely new being. Only, she was the same.

      Aureole had let the red grow out of her hair, but the different shades of brown waves still highlighted her features. She was still tall, still pretty, still Aureole. Peak didn't even realize how much he had missed her until she was right in front of him.

     She nodded in his direction. "Hello."

     Peak's cheeks flushed when he realized he had been staring. He cleared his throat. "Hello, it's good to see both of you again."

     "You look lost," Kai's voice was filled with humor.

     "I'm just..." Peak trailed off, attempting to take in his surroundings again. He'd only been to Kai and Skylor's mansion once, but that was before the triplets came along, before his mother died. The one thing he could remember was his mother piling his plate sky-high with different types of noodles. Staring at the red and olive banners, the gold-rimmed baseboards, the intricately designed grand staircase, Peak was overwhelmed with the majesty of it all. To think Aureole had been living this her entire life. Peak had never thought of himself as poor, but in that moment, he realized how little his family had been living on.

     "I'm just remembering," Peak finally said.

     Kai's eyes clouded. "Yeah."

     His voice was thick, thick enough to let Peak know Kai probably wasn't thinking about the last time Peak's family came. Kai, like all the other ninja, had endured a lifetime of pain before any of Peak's generation came along.

     "Do you want to see your room?" Aureole asked as the silence between them stretched thin.

     Peak nodded, grateful for the distraction. Kai dismissed them with a "talk to me anytime if you need help" then disappeared into one the mansion's many corridors to attend a meeting. Aureole's lips twitched at her goofy father, who still hadn't been beaten down the massive amount of work he had to carry out daily. She often wondered how he kept such high spirits.

     Peak walked quietly behind her, opening and closing his mouth as if he had something to say, but then deciding against it. He was unsure how to approach her, and she was more concerned with how much Cole's little boy had changed. Sure, Peak had always been tall, but now he was taller than her, with broad shoulders and a set jaw. His movements were kind, like a doctor-in-training's movements should be. Even in adulthood he was reserved and focused, though there was an openness she hadn't noticed before. It was almost as if he was finally uncovering himself so he could experience life to its fullest.

     They made it to Peak's room before either of them had thought of something to say. Aureole supposed it was better that way.

     "It's a bit smaller, but we wanted to get you something closer to the hospital," she explained hurriedly as he inspected the room. "I hope you don't mind."

     He still had that warm smile, even after all these years. "It's perfect, Aurie."

     Aurie.

     She bit her lip, distracting herself by inquiring after his family. Small talk was a cheap move to play, but talking to Peak now felt less like talking to a childhood friend and more like talking to a stranger. He was so different; she barely knew what to make of him.

     "I miss them all terribly, which seems kind of mushy since I've only been gone a few hours. But it's true. I've been looking after them for so long I'm not exactly sure what to do without them." He laughed awkwardly, sitting down on the folded, scarlet duvet. "You must think I'm silly."

     Aureole found herself shaking her head, trying to ignore how well his dark eyebrows highlighted his peculiar eyes. "No, I think... I think you're very brave."

     She wished him well and left before he could inquire what exactly she meant by that.

>(<>)<

Take some time to yourself, okay? Maybe if you come back in a few years, I'll have a different answer.

     Aureole thought about those words a lot. She remembered the scene clearly—Shade's troubled face, his longing for something he didn't have, and the resolve in her own bones. He'd wanted to kickstart the relationship everyone around them had been waiting for. And she... she said no. She told him to work on himself first.

     She wished she hadn't.

     No one had seen Shade Garmadon since Morro was married nearly five years ago. The night of Morro and Noria's union, Shade disappeared without a trace, taking nothing and leaving nothing behind. Lloyd and Harumi were much more passive on the matter than they should have been. They said they'd known Shade was going to leave at some point, and there was no sense in trying to find him. Aureole heavily disagreed.

     At first she'd been worried about him, then content he was going to follow her advice. As the months slipped into years, however, she became anxious. She was getting older and older, and her only potential partner hadn't returned yet. Aureole knew she didn't want to marry Shade for love, but marrying Shade was an idea that she'd always been familiar with. They were friends, and she knew he'd treat her well. Besides, her parents expected it. Aureole's life had been mapped out since she was born, so she'd come to see marrying Shade as another checkbox to cross out.

     But he never came back.

     Aureole blinked, trying to refocus her attention on a legal paper that she needed to read by the morning. Her eyes were tired, however, and her mind kept drifting.

     Take some time to yourself, okay? Maybe if you come back in a few years, I'll have a different answer.

      Aureole leaned back in her plush chair, using her feet to spin it around as she absentmindedly stared at the picturesque walls of her room. Cleaners came by to polish each room in the manor daily, so when Aureole returned from work, her room was so immaculate that half the time she temporarily forgot she lived there.

     It was still so hard to believe all of this was her life, that all of this was real.

     Every day was a blur of unwanted stress and complications. Every day was filled with long meetings, intensive paperwork, and that same, inescapable longing to run away. She wanted to flee from it. It was too much responsibility, too much pressure. Aureole couldn't imagine living through the torture of her work life every day, yet somehow, she was able to do it. Sometimes she couldn't even believe she was alive. Maybe this was some sort of hell. Maybe she was dead. And maybe, just maybe, this was all a very bad dream.

     She supposed she longed for Shade as marrying him would bring an escape. Her endless, repetitive, overworked life would finally come to a stop if he reentered the scene. Shade could offer her more than companionship; he could offer her a chance to get away. If she was a wife and mother, perhaps the workload could lessen. Perhaps the nooses could loosen. Perhaps she could finally stop drowning in her life and finally poke her head above the waters to breathe.

     But he never came back.

     "I checked on Peak today, and he said he's getting along nicely," Skylor mentioned during their collective family meal—always dinner at eight p.m. sharp. "The hospital staff has been kind to him and he'd finding his way around town."

     Aureole shoved down a glob of rice to keep from replying. Peak had only been on the island for two weeks and she'd already forgotten about him. She was embarrassed by it, and her cheeks flushed in shame.

     "We should invite him to dine with us," Kai suggested, elegantly plucking a dumpling from Skylor's plate. He'd already finished all of his.

     Aureole half-heartedly agreed, too tired to think of anything else.

     More days passed by in unwanted smudges of sound and color. Meetings, paperwork, officials, dinner, bed. Sometimes she'd talk. Other times she'd cry when she knew no one was looking. But most of all she just felt numb.

     Surprisingly enough, it was him who came to her first.

      She was in her mother's greenhouse, sitting on a small, stone bench and staring as the colorful hyacinths waving in the humid air. She didn't remember how she got there, just that she was taking deep breaths again for the first time in forever. There was just something about the sweet fragrances and the privacy in the glass walls that lifted her burden, if only for a second.

      Then he was there, wordless, sitting down next to her. There was no other place to sit, unless he wanted to crouch down by the fountain's edge. And it would have been awkward if he just stood and watched her. Aureole supposed he could have left when he saw she was there, but it was unlike Peak to leave a troubled person behind.

     They sat in silence, their gazes drifting from the hyacinths to the peonies, to the swirling tendrils of ivy to the twinkling stars poking through the leaves growing above. Anywhere but to each other.

     "Do you come here often?"

     Aureole knew he would speak eventually, but she was still so startled by his choice of words that she couldn't help but smile. It faded as quickly as it came, and her callused fingers curled around the edge of the bench, pressing white against the warm stone.

     "No," she eventually replied, "I just... I guess I just needed an escape."

     Peak reached out to stroke the leaf canopy above them. "This is a very relaxing place. A servant told me I might find you here."

     Aureole was too numb to think of a reply.

     "You're a very different person now," he continued, as if she had indeed spoken a response. "You seem... exhausted."

     She couldn't stop the snort that came through her lips. "All the time."

     Peak was pleased that he'd gotten her to answer. She always seemed so distant whenever he came to dine with her family, as if she were lost in her own mind. Aureole, on the other hand, felt words bubbling up her throat. But she didn't want to say them. Peak was a stranger, a new person as well... but he was also one of her oldest friends. She could trust him, right?

     "Do you know what's funny?" she said suddenly, her fingers clenching tighter, tighter. "Even here I can't escape it. You see those hyacinths growing in front of us? I can tell you exactly how much they cost to import, how much we pay the gardeners to maintain them, and when my next meeting with the manager of our imports/exports to the island is. But I can't tell you the last time I had five minutes to myself to do anything other than eat or go to bed. It's worse than being a ninja, Peak, it's so much worse."

      Peak wasn't sure how to reply. Aureole's face was twisted, her eyes squeezed shut against the outside world. In the pale light she was hurting, but she looked more beautiful than ever. His heart caught in his throat.

     "Mother liked hyacinths," he said slowly. "Father took us shopping with him whenever he was going to get her some. We'd run through the aisles in the flower shop trying to pick a plethora of colors."

      Aureole smiled softly at his words, her eyes closing as she tried to picture it. "I forgot how much you liked to talk about Seliel."

     "I never really did before," Peak admitted, "when I was younger it was painful to reminisce. But I find bringing up the good memories now... keeps her here."

     "What do you mean?"

     "Sometimes I'm afraid... sometimes I'm afraid that my life is becoming so busy that... that I'm forgetting her."

     Aureole squinted at him. "You're not forgetting her, per se, you're just... moving on. I've had to cede a lot of things in my life—like losing elemental powers—and it's just a matter of accepting it, I guess."

     "She told me she'd always be a part of me."

      "And she always will," Aureole assured him, patting his shoulder. In that moment distant memories resurfaced. Ones of grief, ones of comfort. Ones where giant rocks fell and she grieved for lost friends, only to have Peak solace her. Ones where they had been honest with each other, even if those feelings of fear weren't to be shared with the rest of the crew. Ones where the only place they felt comfortable was next to each other, since everyone else was breaking apart.

      They had both been so young then.

      But Peak wasn't a child anymore.

     "She wouldn't want you to live your life stuck in the past."

     He looked at her, and for the first time Aureole noticed stubble on his chin. That's when they both realized how close they'd gotten. They turned away, flushing in the dark, and Aureole found herself grinning.

     "When you'd decide to grow a beard?"

      "I'm not—" Peak's hand flashed to his chin, and he laughed too. "Not yet, anyway. My dad has an epic beard though. It frightened Avery's first suitor into submission. I'm going to imitate it one day."

      Aureole missed the camaraderie. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that ever since she and her friends had defeated the Overlord, they'd fallen apart. Storm and his family spent months in Kunci fighting out legal battles, Morro was always busy with his education, and Shade had been so distant. They met up every now and then, but all of them knew it was more of routine than anything. Over time they'd stopped getting together and just moved on with life. Morro started a family. Storm and Carmen left to travel the world. And Shade just... left.

     "I have an idea," Peak said vaguely, twirling a leaf in his hands. Aureole entreated him to continue.

     "How about tomorrow you show me around town? It'll be a nice break from your work, don't you think?"

     He looked so earnest about it that her heart did a flip.

     "I have a meeting with the immigration leader tomorrow," Aureole admitted somberly, staring back down at her knuckles. "And the day after that Mother wants me to organize a raise for our cleaning department."

     Peak didn't back down. "Then come here in the evenings. I'll show you the way out."

     "The guards wouldn't let me just run off, Peak."

     His smile was wry. "We're ninja, Aurie, we can sneak past anything."

>(<>)<

That's how Peak found himself on the back of a rented, poorly put-together scooter as Aureole drove them around the brick-layered streets of Skylor's Island. She told him the citizens were calling the main town Amberville, after her mother's power. Peak had seen a bit of the city, but Aureole knew it far better than he did.

      Their first night out they ate in a small coffee shop, scarfing down tiny sandwiches and joking about who had the worse caffeine addiction. Peak had thought he had a chance. Sometimes he had to stay until midnight or one o'clock during his night shifts. Aureole just deadpanned about one week where she pulled three all-nighters to get a trade treaty finished by its deadline. The win was generously given to Aureole, and Peak made sure to buy her an espresso afterwards.

      Once Peak got Aureole to stop obsessing about how tired she was going to be the next day, Aurie was actually a lot of fun. Just over the first hour they spent talking in that coffee shop, the lines in her forehead smoothed out, her dark eyes shined brighter, and her smile became just a bit more genuine.

     Peak's caffeine addiction grew much worse as the days dragged on, but he didn't mind. He and Aureole went window shopping through a closed outdoor mall, hiking down a moonlit trail, and watched a drive-in movie that half of Amberville showed up to. They even snuck down to the official Chen's Noodle House restaurant and feasted on noodles at three a.m. Over time, Aureole's excitement towards the outings strengthened, and while Peak had gained back his under-eye circles, he had never been happier.

      He found, between Aurie and his apprenticeship, that the aching in his heart grew less and less. He stopped obsessively texting his siblings every hour, he stopped bringing up his mother every time he talked to someone, and for what seemed like the first time in a long time, he was finally stopped worrying about his family.

      Peak didn't even notice these subtle changes until Aureole brought it up one night when they were dining with her parents. Peak quietly replied that she hadn't been bringing up work as much either.

     "Aureole, you look really tired," Kai commented one night as they were dining on hitsumabushi.

     "Haven't been able to sleep," Aureole crabbed back.

     Skylor muttered something inaudible, but seemed to realize her daughter's strange increase of exhaustion wasn't going to be explained anytime soon. Peak laughed to himself as he and Aurie exchanged a glance across the table, both of them secretly smiling at their hidden game.

     "I really shouldn't be doing this," Aureole said one night after they'd explored the docks, "but after so long, I finally feel free. I think just an hour of that a night is worth every side effect of sleep deprivation that hits me."

     Peak couldn't agree more.

     It was a taste of their old life, that was for sure. Days spent tending to their duties, free hours spent tending to their adventures. Weeks passed, maybe months. They took nights off every now and then so they could catch up on sleep, but as soon as they felt better they'd return to frolicking around the island. In the rare occasion of a day off, Aureole would organize a trip to the outer regions of the island, where new colonists were settling in. She and Peak would haul lumber, unload crates, and run the drill machines. It was nice to help people again.

     It was during this blank time of activity where Peak began to realize an old admiration was resurfacing.

     Storm loved to tell a story of when Shade first saw Aureole. It was something along the lines of little Shade seeing her doused in a heavenly light and the world singing like a choir of angels. It was mostly a joke, but the message was clear. The first time Shade truly saw Aureole, he knew that his life had changed.

      Peak had experienced something similar. It wasn't a story he'd ever told, due to the fact he never found it relevant enough to say. When Peak was younger, probably only four or five years old, he'd attended the first Picnic Day. And just like Shade, he had experienced that sudden sense of perfection upon seeing Aureole, as if everything in his life had just fallen into place. Aureole, even as a child, was as rosy as the morning dawn, with a bright smile and a lovely face. When Peak had first realized how beautiful she was, he'd stood there, breathless, smiling. He was barely a child, but just like Shade, he'd known his life was about to change.

      Aureole had always been Peak's older sister, however, due to the fact she was several years older than him. That, and she had always been more interested in Shade. Peak could sense that dynamic during his initial time on the island. Even though Aureole never mentioned Shade by name, Peak knew the haunted look that sometimes flashed through her eyes.

      Yet, Peak couldn't deny the fact that even after ten years, Aureole was still as rosy as the morning sky. When she smiled, she lit up the whole room. It didn't matter to him anymore if she was older. He could no longer honestly say she was a sister-figure to him. She was a light at the end of his tunnel, the one thing in his life that felt constant and unwavering. She was there when he struggled to keep up with his family; she was his comfort when he realized he never completely could.

     Peak loved Aureole, as silly as it was.

     Perhaps he always had.

     But he knew it was hopeless.

     In her eyes he was still the little boy from over ten years ago, still the little boy still so scarred from his mother's death. Besides, Peak knew why Aureole looked so haunted half the time. She was waiting for someone.

     No, not someone.

     She was waiting for Shade.

      And Peak, no matter how much he thought he could one day fill the role as a partner, could never measure up to that.

>(<>)<

"Hello?"

     "Hi, it's me... Aureole." She wasn't sure why she felt the need to clarify. "Um, I—do you... do you have a few minutes to um, talk?"

     "Aureole? Wow, yeah, totally. It's been forever."

     "It's been almost five years," she whispered in the phone, almost afraid to say the words aloud.

     "Five years? Dang, time flies by." A yell interrupted his voice, and she could hear him stumble across the room to soothe a crying child.

     "Is this a bad time?"

     "Oh, no, sorry. I've got two little ones now and a third one on the way; they are precious, but also very loud. Do you have any children of your own, Aureole?"

     Aureole suddenly felt a pang of longing. What for, she couldn't tell.

     "No," she replied, clenching her bedsheets into a tight fist. "No, I haven't found someone yet."

     "Work?" he guessed. He switched the phone to his other ear as he bounced a spluttering baby.

     "Yeah."

     The line wasn't silent by any means (his children were noisy), but none the less, it was awkward. Aureole felt again, like she had seeing Peak after so long, that she was speaking to a completely new person. She pursed her lips, deciding to get the point.

     "Have you... heard anything from him? From... from Shade?"

     She could practically see the smile on his lips slowly fade.

      "No," he said somberly, "I haven't seen Shade since the wedding."

      "It's just... you're his brother. You would know more about this than anyone. Did he ever tell you where he was going? Or how long it would take for him to get bac—"

      "Aureole," Morro interrupted quietly, cutting off her hysteria. Even in his house, the background was shifting to silence. It was like the world was holding its breath for his next words. "He never told me anything. He just wanted to leave. The idea made him happy, so I supported him in every way I could. We both knew he was going to go after the wedding, and we both knew we'd... we'd probably never see each other again."

      "So... he's never coming back?" The words were fragile, shattering.

      "Aureole—"

      But Aureole was already forcing a polite tone through her shaky voice. "Thank you for your time."

     "Aureole, listen to me—"

      "Please tell Noria I said hello."

     "Aure—"

      "Goodbye, Morro."

      She put the phone down with much more ease than she thought she had in her. The device rung with his number once more, but she smothered the phone with her comforter to drown out the noise. Her bottom lip trembled, and without warning, her stomach unleased a gut-wrenching sob. Before she knew it, she was curled up in her bed, crying.

      Crying for a life she didn't have. Crying for a crushed dream. Crying for an opportunity gone, like shifting sands being carried back into the ocean.

      It was gone, then, her plan for escape. She would spend her days working and her nights frolicking about, until Peak settled down and left her alone again. She would grow old like her parents, too obsessed with her job to do anything else but wonder what could have been. Time was passing, slipping away, and she was in her early thirties. The opportunity of escape, to start a new family, a new life, was dwindling faster than she expected. And the news about Shade all but slammed that door shut forever.

>(<>)<

It ended like it started, inside of her mother's greenhouse, with Aureole staring at the stars. Except this time the stars were blurry through tears, and Aureole couldn't stop shaking. She'd canceled every plan she and Peak had made, indefinitely. There was really no point to it all. Why did she keep sacrificing sleep and time if it was going to account to nothing? Peak wasn't an escape from her life. He was just... just an old friend. No matter how constant he seemed now, one day he would leave her, just like Shade did. She'd be alone again. Alone forever. She was an idiot to think otherwise.

      Aureole knew it wasn't being single that bothered her, it was the fact that she'd always seen a relationship as a way out of her misery. Perhaps her job would be manageable if she had someone else there to help her carry the load.

      Maybe she just wanted a family. It'd been ten years since she reconciled with her parents, and as much as she loved them, they'd never been the family she'd dreamed of having. Their jobs as owners of Chen's Noodle House, mayors of Skylor's Island, and as spouses to each other were far more important than she'd ever be. She'd accepted the fact long ago, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

     The thought stabbed her heart, making her nearly laugh at the irony.

     She'd told Peak to stop living in the past, but she herself couldn't keep out of the present.

     Moving on and accepting things weren't as easy as she thought, then.

     Bitter tears rolled down her cheeks as she paced through the tendrils of ivy. Aureole stopped in front of the rolling fountain, listening the plip-plops of water hitting the sides of the base. With an ornate sleeve she wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. She allowed the aroma of the sweet flowers around her to soothe her, the lilies, the hyacinths, the roses, that fresh smell of cologne—

      "I had a feeling you'd be in here," he said quietly.

      "I told you I'd like to stop our meetings. They were fun while they lasted, but my work always comes first," she said calmly, not looking at him, meeting her own dark eyes in the fountain's reflection. She wondered why he never cut her protests off. She wondered why she hoped he would.

      "Aurie..."

      Aurie.

      He was the only one that had ever given her a nickname.

      Peak didn't argue, he just sighed. She watched his reflection stand next to hers in the water, his face etched into hard lines. It was in that moment, staring at the water, staring at him, that Aureole realized she thought Peak was very handsome.

     "I... I understand," he said. "That's why I thought this was a better time than ever to... to tell you the truth."

     "What truth?" her voice was small, unsure.

     "I love you."

     "Oh."

     "I think it's best we're cutting off contact," he almost laughed, though it sounded more wistful than anything. "I know you don't reciprocate so—"

     She found she very much wanted to argue differently, but she wasn't sure why.

      "—so, it's like the universe gave me a sign, you know? Sorry if this is a bit awkward; Father always told me getting to the point is easier than trying to beat around the bush. I guess... I guess I just wanted you to know before we parted ways again."

     His tone was honest, sincere. No, it wasn't awkward. It was heartwarming. Aureole kept staring the water, loving the way his cheeks flushed slightly, loving each and every memory of him she could grab a hold of. She couldn't believe Peak loved her. She was angry he hadn't said something sooner.

     "Well... I guess I'll see you around." He smiled softly at their reflections, then turned to go.

     "Wait."

     Her fingers caught his gloved ones, entwining with them, holding him there.

     "Don't go," she whispered.

     "I won't," he murmured, catching sight of the tears falling from her eyes again.

     A single pastel petal hit the moving water, causing ripples to blur their reflections together. Aureole found her heart caught in her throat, and Peak's patience wavered. He remembered the look in Aureole's eyes when she'd told him the meetings needed to stop. He remembered his own doubts about how he could ever provide as a husband. He remembered that Aureole was waiting for Shade, the one man that Peak could never compare to.

     He loved Aureole, but he couldn't stand here forever, being only a substitute filling the shoes of a man Aureole loved more. He was tired of waiting. He couldn't let the past hold him back anymore. Either Aureole returned his feelings and they could move forward together, or, she still loved Shade, and he would have to move forward alone. Life was what Peak made it. He wanted to take Aureole's advice. He wanted to move on from what laid behind him and experience the fruits that the future had to bring.

     He had to know the truth.

     "Are you still waiting for him? For Shade?"

      Her grip tightened, and a faint blush spread over her cheeks. In the moonlight, surrounded by the flowers, she was the most beautiful that Peak had ever seen her.

      Aureole looked up at the water.

     "I was," she said slowly, turning to meet Peak's eyes. "I-I don't know what I'm waiting for anymore."

     "The life I'm offering isn't easy. I'll be gone in the evenings, but I promise to be there every morning. I'm not rich, I won't live in a mansion, and I certainly am not offering a chance to wander the world." Peak took her other hand, pressing them against his heart. "But I can offer my devotion, loyalty, and a chance to have a family. I don't know if that's what you really want. However, it's the life I'd like to lead with you."

     Aureole felt his heart stammering his chest, much like her own. She closed her eyes, trying to take it all in.

     "What are you asking me to do?" she whispered.

     "I'm asking you to marry me."

     They both stopped instantly, both reeling from the words that had just come out of Peak's mouth. Peak hadn't meant to say it, but deep down he knew he meant it. Aureole, on the other hand, was flustered. Marry Peak. Marry Cole's little boy. Marry him after she'd only truly knew him for a few months.

     Months. How long had it been since Peak came to the island? Aureole tried to convince herself that it was too soon, that such a big decision couldn't be made in such a short amount of time. However, the truth was staring straight at her. She'd spent ten years waiting for Shade to come back to her, and he never had. Yes, maybe Aureole had been getting to know Peak for half a year, or three fourths of a year. But she'd spent more meaningful time with Peak than she'd ever had with Shade.

     "Are you sure?" Aureole asked, hesitant. "With my job and everything?"

     He looked serene in the pale moonlight. Gone was the little boy struggling to raise his siblings. In his place was a man, a doctor, a lover.

     "I won't ask you to quit your job," said Peak. "If you want to keep it, that's fine."

     "I don't want to keep it. I want to be free."

     He just smiled.

     Aureole looked at him, suddenly feeling her world come to a stop. The reality of her situation hit her like a train, and it seemed as if the world was pausing between each heartbeat. This decision here and now would change her life forever. Peak had changed her life forever.

     She had been drowning. Drowning in work, worry, stress, the likes. Her entire life had been a nonstop list of things to do. Her existence had no meaning. Every day Aureole had longed for an escape, an escape that only Peak could bring.

     By his side she could be a wife and mother. She spend her mornings with him, doing community service or simply enjoying each other's company. She could have her evenings to do whatever she wanted. In a sense, Aureole could be free. 

     A smile twitched at her lips, and more tears fell. Happy tears.

     Peak took the hint and got down one knee. "Aureole, former master of fire and daughter of the Fire Ninja and Skylor Chen, will you marry me?"

     "Yes," Aureole said, and she meant it. She meant every word.

>(<>)<

Their wedding was small, without the heavy dose of ostentation Aureole's life had always been coated in. The day previous had been her last day of work. Kai and Skylor were much more accepting about the decision than Aureole expected. She hadn't let the surprise consume her though. She simply shook their hands, wished their business well, then finished packing her things for the move.

     After the wedding, the attendees went out for dinner at Chen's Noodle House. There was no big party, but it was okay.

     Aureole felt—as she changed out of the fluffy wedding dress and into a modest, pink kimono—that she was taking a weight off of her shoulders. As she and Peak walked towards the Noodle House to join the others, she stretched her arms towards the golden sky. Aureole took a deep breath and grinned. Finally, just finally, she could start dreaming about the future.

     When Peak took the hand of his new wife, at last he could admit to himself that he didn't remember the sound of his mother's laugh. But that was okay. He had a new laugh to admire now.

     The past could be left behind, the present worries forgotten, replaced by a hopeful dream for the future. To start a new life. To shed off the pain, fears, and worries of the old one. To finally live, to finally love, without constraint. Without any boundaries. To finally be themselves, their own entities outside of the ones the world had shaped for them.

     Aureole squeezed Peak's hand, and they began to smile.

     They were finally free.

Finis.