Welcome to the epilogue and therefore the end of this fic.
Thank you to Rishini, Invader Johnny, Rose-Aki and alicheriee for the reviews on the last chapter - and thank you for the reviews in general! Also thanks to everyone, who favorited or followed this fic; or just read at all. I hope you enjoyed it and would always love to hear back from you. :) A special thanks and shout-out once more to alicheriee and another (this time belated) happy birthday to you. Hope you'll also enjoy the epilogue of your gift. ;)
Yeah, about the epilogue: It will jump right into the situation we stopped at the chapter before (with Tori and Jade). So, Jade is still visting Tori, they are waiting for Cat, and talking about relationships.
I hope I managed to... like... top the fic off in a nice way, so it all makes sense. Enjoy either way!

"I hope Mike and me also will stay together at least for four years and will know as much about ourselves, each other and our relationship," Tori says.

Jade just slightly rolls her eyes like she does, as she eats some more of the sweets, Tori has of course had ready again for the two of them and Cat.

Well... Anyway... Tori continues: "I will also watch all the things you said. You know... I will try my best to be honest with Mike and to understand him and to accept him the way he is. And I of course trust that he never wants to hurt me and will try to remind myself of that whenever necessary. And I'll never go to bed angry." She grins as that last one was of course not actual advice by Jade. She never said she would implement that rule in her place. However, she told Tori to talk to Mike about a rule like that if she wanted it.

Jade doesn't smile but furrows her brows: "You do get that I never actually told you to do all that, right? I never told you how to live your life. You asked what you should do with those first two things and I told you how I would do it and how I indeed do it with Beck. You are different than me, your boy toy is different than Beck. You should just get to know what you want yourself and communicate that to him."

Okay, that's true. Jade has always kind of told her that Tori should talk to Mike about what they want for their relationship. That they should agree on their own rules.

And she probably should. Though every time she thinks about it... When she was honest about her not being sure if she wants to meet his parents, she still didn't talk to him about how they will handle honesty in the future. It just felt awkward. And she still thinks it's a little weird to just talk about stuff like that. Even if it would come natural, a conversation like that...

"I would just wish that we could make it work, without having to talk about it," she honestly says, because she always imagined that good relationships worked like that. Like a fairytale, the boy just knowing every one of her thoughts, of her wishes, of her desires. "You know... Sometimes, it's not all good between Mike and me and I would wish he would just get what I need."

Tori doesn't know if Jade will ever understand what she means with that. If Jade ever imagined a relationship like that – and if Beck actually isn't able to read Jade like a book.

Jade answers: "Some things, he will get. Others he won't. You have to know that relationships do mean work at times." She looks at Tori for another moment and then shrugs slightly. "Though I also wouldn't want to be together with Beck if the work outweighed everything it gives me."

That's of course also a perspective. Yeah, Tori doesn't like the idea at all to have to put work into it. That's not how 'true love' is portrayed. But yes, if she gets more out of the relationship than she has to give for it... it's still worth it, isn't it?

Jade isn't finished yet: "You love him and he loves you, right? That's worth a lot. Appreciate that." She puts emphasis on her last words, as if to tell Tori to stop worrying, to stop thinking about how sometimes, it's tough with Mike and her, how they aren't always just happy with each other, how she wants to go the distance with him so badly but doesn't know if they will be able to.

She should probably appreciate the good times much more. She just has this talent to obsess over every bad moment after Ryder, but especially after Steven. She already has dated such idiots, whom she has trusted so quickly, that it's hard now to forget.

She likes this advice, definitely. Appreciating that they do love each other. Because they do. She knows Mike also loves her.

And with that secure feeling, she of course is able to be curious once more: "Do you appreciate that you and Beck love each other?"

She doesn't know if Jade will answer that in earnest – she does, with the smallest smile: "Every time, I'm with him."

That's also the moment, the doorbell rings. Luckily before Tori can make a noise in awe, disgrunteling Jade again. That's finally Cat showing up.

.

.

They spend a long evening with each other and afterwards, Jade drives to Beck's RV.

The lights in the RV are all out, but she has told him she would possibly come by. She spends more and more nights in the RV. They want to move together soon, still look for a cheap apartment though and for part-time jobs that won't interfere with college.

Anyway... There is only one key for the RV, but that's why he said he would just leave the door unlocked, so she could come in, even if he was already asleep.

He is indeed already sleeping when she comes inside. She doesn't turn the lights on to not wake him up. She knows her way around the RV anyway and in the dark as well, so it's not a problem.

She gets herself ready for bed in the small bathroom, before she quietly gets to the bed.

Beck hasn't awoken before, but moves now as she lies down next to him. She smiles as she lies down in a way that they are turned to each other, and takes his arm and puts it around herself.

He makes a small noise and then his lips are already searching for hers without him even opening his eyes.

They kiss, then he whispers still half-asleep: "How are Cat and Tori?"

"Like usual," she just answers.

Beck kisses her again, before he checks sleepily: "Had fun?"

"Mhm," she makes. She had fun, but just know she remembers her talk with Tori before Cat arrived.

She takes his face into her hands as she kisses him again, then she breathes: "I love you, Beck. I love you so much." And she does appreciate it. She appreciates that she can have this deep feeling for someone, that it almost gets deeper every day. She appreciates that Beck also loves her, that he cares for her. She appreciates that he's the one person who deserves to be loved by her like that, that he deserves her trust and love. She appreciates that life has brought them together, that they can lie here together, that she can look into his face, can touch him with her hands, can feel his warmth next to her. That this is real and it's proven real so easily every time she's with him.

Now, he finally opens his eyes with her telling him she loves him like that. Well, she sometimes does that, just in the middle of the night, in his arms, where she feels most safe.

He smiles, kisses her again, before he earnestly answers: "I love you, too."

She feels her heart aching beautifully like it sometimes does when he tells her those words. Because she knows he means it, that he loves her just as much as she loves him. There is nothing greater in the world.

And yeah, though it means work at times, though they have their fair share of trouble, Jade appreciates their relationship very much. She appreciates their love for each other. She appreciates that both of them actually fell in love with each other, that this isn't a one-sided thing, but that they both feel so deeply about each other. How unlikely is that? How unlikely is it that between the whole world population you and another person fall in love with each other? Even though, people claim to fall in love all the time, it's special, isn't it? To find someone you truly love, who loves you as well?

If you find something like that, you've already got so much. And Jade guesses, to bring that to your own mind every now and then, to appreciate it, does a relationship good and can be an important part of it. It definitely puts things into perspective from time to time.

Jade kisses Beck again, the young man, whom she loves and who loves her, more than anything.