More than a mask held them together. Both could be too serious for their own good, and awkward with their emotions. But while Gerome was fatalistic and closed himself off, Lucina was determined and tried to reach out. Especially to him.

"That's why I fell in love with you," he once said, turning redder than a beet afterwards. It was hard for Gerome to verbalize these things, Lucina understood; she hadn't gone into this expecting flowers and candy and sweeping declarations of devotion. She didn't have time for such things. She'd only wanted to help him and in the process they'd come together.

She still had her version of the mask, both pieces stashed away in her pack. She'd apologized for letting it be broken, but he didn't care. He had his own, and she could keep the one he'd given her. One day she presented him with a gift, half of that mask on a cord.

"I'll keep the other half," she said. It was just one piece of their bond, even without it they fit together well. Similar, yet different, a relationship built on trust and patience. In taking the time to help him overcome his problems, Lucina had unknowingly soothed her own sorrows from the future.

They sat by the dying campfire tonight, her head resting on his shoulder and their fingers entwined.

"I still have my doubts about coming back here," he said. "But if you're so sure we can change the future, then I believe you."

She squeezed his hand and smiled.

"And I won't let you down."