His laughter was a low, warm vibration against her lips, a sound she felt in her very bones. He rolled them, pinning her beneath him with a gentle weight that felt more like an anchor than a restraint. His eyes, the color of a mist-gray sky, searched hers, and in their depths, she saw the echo of a thousand lifetimes.
"You know," he murmured, his voice a soft caress, "I used to think we were cursed. That we were just two souls, doomed to find each other and lose each other, over and over."
She reached up, her fingers tracing the line of his brow, the stubborn set of his jaw. "Maybe we're not cursed," she whispered, the realization dawning with the clarity of a sunrise. "Maybe love never dies. It just...finds you. Again and again."
A slow, beautiful smile spread across his face. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," she confirmed, a profound sense of peace settling over her, a feeling more powerful than any magic she had ever wielded. "That's just fine with me. I will love Jae Shaw. I will love Francisco del Castillo. I will love the eagle, or the man, or any form you decide to take." She paused, a wicked glint returning to her eyes. "I'd even love you if you were a freaking mushroom."
His laughter burst forth then, loud and uninhibited, filling the room with a joy so pure it almost hurt. "A mushroom? Really?"
"Especially a mushroom," she insisted, pulling him down for another kiss, sealing their ridiculous, wonderful, eternal truth. "As long as it's you.”
EPILOGUE
The airin the Norfolk International Airport terminal was a stale recirculation of jet fuel, fast food, and the low, anxious hum of a thousand goodbyes. Fly stood with North near the security checkpoint, the awkward space between them feeling wider than the miles that would soon separate them. The metallic hiss of the conveyor belt and the distant, garbled announcements were a poor soundtrack for this.
"So, I guess this is goodbye for a bit," Fly said, his throat tight.
North nodded, his gaze steady as always. "We've been heading to this place in our lives for the better part of six years. We get a month at home. Then they pin on our lieutenant bars. You head to Virginia Beach and take over a new EAST team. I head back to Coronado and take Echo."
Fly managed a grin, a fragile thing. "Hell of a way to earn our promotions and commands."
North chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. "I don't remember much of being in the Veil. I'm sorry about that. But what I do know is that it doesn’t matter where we go next. We’ll rise to whatever challenge we’re given. It’s just who we are."
“I’d rather not make a habit of saving Reality.”
“Me either. Let somebody else save the world for a while.”
Fly's heart clenched. He wanted to tell him everything about Mei, about the forgiveness, about the peace he'd found. But looking at North's calm, open face, he knew it was something he could do without. It was enough that Fly remembered. She had forgiven him without so much as a harsh word, and maybe that was a gift meant only for him.
Move on, Flynn. There's a lot waiting for you.
Was that closure? Maybe. Thera was right. It was time to let it go.
"I better get to the gate," North said, adjusting the strap of his duffel bag.
Fly clenched his jaw, his throat getting even tighter. "Me, too. M&M and Clint can’t wait until I land.” He clutched the small bag with just the basics. His material life was still in Coronado. “I'm going to miss you, Than."
North smiled, a rare, genuine expression that softened his stern features. "I already miss you. What am I going to do without your Gallagher logic?"
Fly's eyes flooded, and he looked away, trying to clear his throat, to swallow down the emotion that was threatening to choke him. Before he could take another breath, North wrapped his big arms around him, pulling him into a hug that was all solid muscle and unwavering loyalty. Fly fiercely returned the hug, clinging to his brother, his anchor.
"I love you, man," he whispered into North's shoulder.
North let him go, his hands lingering for a moment on Fly's arms. "The feeling is mutual, Flynn. I can thank Bear for bringing us together."
Fly brushed at his cheeks as North turned to head toward his flight home to South Dakota. He watched him until he got to the stairs that would take him to his gate. He had to say it one moretime. "Hoo-yah, North!" Fly's voice echoed through the airport, sharp and clear.
North paused, turning back. A wide grin split his face. "Hoo-yah!" he shouted back, his voice booming over the din.
Fly stood there until he could no longer see North's retreating form, until he was just another person disappearing into the anonymous crowd. Then he turned and went to his gate, the flight that would take him home. The Veil and his Visionary role were behind him. But in a month, his new team was about to get the full force of Lieutenant Flynn "Fly" Gallagher. He was looking forward to that.
* * *
The sun was a warm,heavy blanket on Lechuza’s skin, the sand beneath her a fine, white powder. Ten glorious days in front of them, they had wasted no time getting to the beach. She rubbed the small wooden owl in the palm of her hand, smiling at the feel of the smooth wood. She had worn the wings down and was a little sad that the awkwardness was gone.
She looked up as Flash walked out of the turquoise water, droplets clinging to the muscles of his chest, his hair slicked back from his oh-so-handsome face. He was a vision of the present, a perfect, modern man in a perfect, modern paradise.
