Bittersweet Reunion [Shortened Version]

It was just another day for Lunessa at the bookstore she co-owned and worked at with her friend, Novalie, although this particular day had been a bit slower than usual. A sigh escaping from her slightly parted lips, she decided to close the book that she had been reading to pass the time and put it back in its place below the countertop where she stood. Although she had her mother’s knack for putting the store’s books back in their place (as her mother had previously owned the place), she didn’t have the drive to put it back on the shelf only to take it back out to read the next day. Adjusting the small, gold-rimmed, round-framed glasses that rested on the bridge of her nose, Lunessa slowly stood up from her hunched-over position, letting out a soft groan as her back complained from the recent poor posture.

Smoothing down the long skirt of her canary yellow dress, she began to descend the staircase to see if Nova needed help finishing up in the downstairs café or if she was in fact done for the day. As Lunessa got closer to the ground floor, she began to hear the voices of Nova and…someone else? It was rather unusual for people to show up towards closing time, even if they were a regular to the shop. Novalie had apparently heard Lunessa come downstairs because the blonde immediately turned her head towards Lunessa as she reached the bottom of the stairs:

“There you are, Luna! I’ve been trying to tell this guy that we’re closed, but he won’t stop asking for you.”

Luna let out an exasperated huff, brushing away some of the strands of her parakeet green hair that had come loose from the confines of the tight bun in which they were held. Great… she thought. Another “secret admirer” that just wants my attention… “Look, pal,” she began to speak. “I’m not really interested, so I suggest you l-” Luna stopped dead in her tracks, and her dark brown eyes widened at the sight of magenta hair.

“You.” Her voice was now filled with venom towards the man in front of her. “Why are you here?” She punctuated her words with a pointed finger. “I thought I told you to never show your face to me again.”

Both Novalie and the man were taken aback at Lunessa’s sudden anger. The man, whom Lunessa seemed to know, slowly attempted to explain himself: “Look, Lulu, I-”

“Don’t. You. Dare.” Luna cut him off sharply. “Zephyr, you have no right to call me by that name anymore, especially after what you did,” she took a shaky breath as she held back tears. “Why don’t you just go back to her? She certainly seemed to make you happy.” With that, Lunessa stormed off back upstairs.

“Nessa!” Novalie called after her with her other nickname, but Luna refused to listen to anyone at that point. Slamming her office door behind her, Luna collapsed to the floor in tears, hugging her knees close to her. After a few moments of just sitting there wallowing, the door finally opened. Luna didn’t even lift her head until she felt a pair of arms gently encircle her. Fortunately for her and the person embracing her, it was Novalie who decided to console her; if it had, in fact, been Zephyr, their interaction wouldn’t be as pleasant, especially considering the implied circumstances. Luna hesitated for a moment before reciprocating the hug.

“Do…” Nova paused. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Luna considered it for a moment, but then replied softly with a sigh, “Not entirely. Do you remember what I told you about Kori?”

“Your stepsister?”

Lunessa nodded. “Let’s just say Zephyr decided to leave me for her after I left Golderia.” Her expression hardened as the memories of her home world began to flood her mind. “He’s an old friend, yes, but I can’t help but feel betrayed. I thought him being with Kori was all a ruse. I thought he cared about me.”

Novalie took all of this in and began to ponder. “Look, I understand where you’re coming from, but don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh? During our small conversation, he seemed genuinely concerned about you. Plus, you kinda cut him off before he could speak.”

“Yeah, I know… You’re probably right…” Luna stood up, brushed off her dress, and wiped away what tears remained on her face. Novalie stood up as well and grasped Nessa’s hand, giving it a gentle reassuring squeeze.

“It’s ok. He probably knows you didn’t mean it.” Nova gave a mischievous smirk. “If he tries anything, though, I’ll kick him to the curb for you.”

Lunessa let out a chuckle, and arm-in-arm, the pair descended the staircase once again. When they reached the ground floor, they found Zephyr still there, possibly waiting for them. He raised his head quickly at the sound of their footsteps and tensed up at seeing Luna again.

“If you want me to leave, that’s perfectly fine with me,” he began. “I just… I just wanted to see you again. That’s all,” he finished as a blush tinted his cheeks.

“No, you buffoon,” Lunessa grumbled. “It’s late, so you’re not exactly useful at the moment,” Zephyr began to deflate, but Luna continued before he could respond. “But, you can come back tomorrow morning. The place isn’t open to the public then, so it should give you more than enough time to say or do what you need. After that, though, you need to leave. Understood?”

Zephyr nodded. “Luna, I…” he paused as he chose his next words carefully. “I’m sorry…” He frowned, seemingly wanting to say something else, but he decided against it and grabbed his hat and coat. His shamrock green eyes flickered back to Lunessa for one last glance and then left.

Novalie was the first to see Zephyr return the next morning…especially considering they almost knocked each other to the ground at the front door. After an exchange of brief apologies, an awkward silence settled in the room.

“She’s upstairs,” Nova finally spoke. “But, if I were you, I wouldn’t try to aggravate her,” she looked him up and down before placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder and continuing. “You know how she is, or at least, I think you do. Just…she’s already been through enough pain. Don’t put her through any more, ok?” Zephyr nodded, and Nova, seemingly satisfied with this, let go of him and walked out of the shop to do her errands.

Zephyr watched her go for a moment, hesitating before making the rather suspenseful climb up the stairs to where Lunessa was. His hands traced the intricate carvings on the handrail as a means to calm his nerves. As he reached the top, he began to hear the familiar sound of humming coming from one of the back rooms. A smile graced his lips; it had been far too long since he’d heard Luna sing, and she sounded just as angelic as she did back then. In fact, while he stood against the doorframe of the room she was in, she looked just as angelic, too:

She had decided to let her hair down that day, the vibrant green curls flowing over her shoulders as would waves in the ocean. Each lock of hair seemed to capture the pale rays of sunlight that filtered through the window beside her, and her sepia-toned skin seemed to hold an otherworldly glow as the light shone down on her. She was so breathtaking, that time seemed to stand still for Zephyr, almost making him forget why he was here. He raised his hand to rap gently on the doorframe, but before he could do so, Lunessa stopped her song and seemed to acknowledge his presence:

“I already know you’re there, Zephyr,” she paused as she turned slightly to where he saw her profile. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Not long,” he responded, shifting away from his original leaning position. He gave her a sad smile. “I’ve missed you.”

“I did, too, once. And then I find you even further in cahoots with her,” Lunessa punctuated the last word bitterly.

“You know I did that to protect you from her. We both know that. I did everything I could to get away from her and find you-”

“Then why did it take so long!?” Luna had fully turned around to face him, hot tears burning as they ran down her face. “You promised you would come back for me, yet, you never did! And when I finally get the chance to look for you, I see you two together still! And you,” she was on the verge of screaming now. “You were enjoying yourself! You abandoned me!” Luna broke down sobbing. “Did- did I even matter to you?”

Zephyr was speechless, and silence (save for Lunessa’s sobs) draped the atmosphere with sorrow. “Lulu, I…” he began, bracing for the cutoff she would no doubt give him because of the pet name. But, it never came, so he tentatively attempted to continue; however, no words would come to his mind, none that would serve to reassure or console her, at any rate. Instead, he haltingly stepped towards her and gingerly wrapped his arms around her in a tender embrace. Luna’s cries stopped abruptly, and her eyes widened at the sudden physical contact. She soon returned the embrace, burying her face in his chest, while Zephyr threaded his fingers smoothly through her hair.

They stayed like that for quite some time, relishing in the warmth of each other’s arms, until Zephyr moved his hand to caress Lunessa’s cheek. She looked up at him, and they held each other in their gaze, while he wiped away any stray tears that remained on her face. He ran his thumb delicately over her soft lips and tilted her head up slightly to connect them with his own in an affectionate kiss. Lunessa’s eyes widened once more but eventually closed as she returned the kiss with an equal outpouring of love. Neither of them cared if anyone saw them right now; they were just glad to be with each other again.

“Well, that was fast!” The two of them jumped with surprise at the sound of Novalie’s voice. She let out a chortle before grinning cheekily. “So…when’s the wedding, you two?” 

Lunessa and Zephyr’s faces went red at that thought, while Nova kept laughing. “Ok, ok, I’m just kidding!” She turned towards the stairs, beckoning for them to follow. “At least come downstairs. Unless…” Nova smirked. “You want to stay up here?”

“Yep! Downstairs! Great idea, Nova!” Luna squeaked out a response, dashing towards her friend. She stopped and turned to address Zephyr with a smile. “Are you coming, or what?”

He straightened his posture and nodded, returning her smile with one of his own; he followed them close, with an arm wrapped protectively around Luna’s waist.

The trio spent the rest of the day chattering, while Luna and Nova continued to organize things in the shop. They mostly wanted to catch up over lost time, although Zephyr and Lunessa declined to share anything that had to with their shared history; in fact, Zephyr remained quiet throughout the majority of the conversation, opting instead to listen in and sneak loving glances at Lunessa. Eventually, as evening approached, Novalie said her goodbyes, letting out another suggestive, “Have fun, you two!~” as she left the café. Luna rolled her eyes at her friend’s overly jovial demeanor and started to collect her things; however, she soon realized that she was forgetting something: her bag.

“Looks like I have to go back upstairs… I’ll be right back,” she bemoaned as she headed to the staircase. However, she didn’t move very far before a hand was laid gently on her shoulder.

 “I’ll get it for you. You’ve already done enough for today,” Zephyr gave her a small smile and a kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs.

Luna watched him go with a dreamy look on her face. She stood there lost in thought for a while before the sound of the front door opening broke her out of her stupor.

“I’m sorry, but we’re clo-” she stopped abruptly as she turned around to see an unfortunately familiar scowl…framed by short cobalt blue hair.

The two stared at each other before Luna spoke, her voice trembling: “Kori… What are you doing here?”

“I thought I told you to not call me that!” The blue-haired woman, Kori, snapped at the sound of the despised nickname. “My name is Kordelia.”

“Oh, yes, I’m fully aware,” Luna replied with an annoyed tone. “I just do that to spite you. But, you still didn’t answer my question: Why are you here?”

A devious smirk crept onto Kordelia’s face. “I’m here to take you back home. It’s not exactly hard to find you, especially since you’ve decided to use your immortality, just like your mother did.”

“That place isn’t home for me anymore. Besides, I already know that that bastard sent you,”

“That ‘bastard’ is your father!” Kori scowled again. “Or, I should say, our father. Oh, gods, you’re absolutely pathetic! No wonder you lost your little friend.”

Luna flinched at the sound of that, which caused Kori to smirk once more as she continued:

“It still hurts you, doesn’t it? You couldn’t save your precious Camille, and here you are wallowing in this pitiful world. I must admit, it’s almost amusing, seeing that you’re still attached to her. How adorable…”

From there, Luna heard her voice trail off as a barrage of painful memories buzzed through her mind. They flew by so fast that she could barely comprehend them, and she could barely register the tears that pricked her eyes and threatened to fall. If Kori saw her break down, she would surely be mocked for weakness…again.

“Kori, that’s enough!” Both girls jolted at the sound of Zephyr’s bold voice, which instantly cut off Kori’s ranting. He was at Luna’s side in an instant, seeing her on the verge of crying and shaking like a leaf. Kordelia paled almost immediately at the knowledge that he was here.

“Y-you’re here, too?” she stammered. “But, I thought-”

She stopped in her tracks as Zephyr glared at her furiously. He handed Luna her previously forgotten bag and encircled a protective arm around Luna’s waist.

“I thought I told you to stay away from her. From both of us,” he retorted. “When I left, I made that very clear. I also told you how I felt about her,” he bobbed his head slightly towards Lunessa at the last word. “Unless…you need a reminder?”

With that, he planted a sweet kiss on the top of Lunessa’s head, which made Luna blush fiercely and Kori gape at them in shock. Zephyr glanced softly at Luna, then turned to aim his bubbling rage at Kori:

“Leave. Now.”

Kordelia snapped her mouth shut into a tight-lipped frown. Her eyes flicked between the two with anger.

“Well…fine! I didn’t want to be near either of you anyways,” she made her way to the door. “Good day!”

“…but, it’s night…?”

“I said good day!” Kori shouted out before stepping out into the cold night and slamming the door behind her.

After a moment of lingering silence, Lunessa let out a shaky breath, when Zephyr suddenly pulled her close, causing her to let out a squeak of surprise. He held her like that for a while in silence, as Lunessa slowly melted into the warm embrace, before he finally asked:

“Are you alright? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

Luna tilted her head up to look at him and shook her head. “No. Well, not physically, anyway.” She paused as her face held a confused expression. “But, why? Why would you do that for me?”

“Because I love you. I always have, and I always will. No amount of time I spent with her will change that, ever. I’m sorry if I hurt you, but please, at least know that what I did, I did it because I love you, Lulu.”

Luna gasped silently in surprise, then slowly smiled as tears fell. She never thought hearing that nickname would bring her so much joy. He returned the smile with his own, and the two leaned into each other for a lasting, passionate kiss. This time, there would be no interruptions, and the long-ago promise that they would be together was rekindled.

Only this time, for forever.