Author's Notes/: And so it ends.

There will, of course be a sequel as soon as I finish deciding exactly how I want to write my ending to Samurai. But this is the end of Promises, as all of the promises Antonio has made to Jayden are fulfilled.

Jayden is more than slightly OOC here, as this is my take on how he would have handled Lauren's arrival in this 'verse. This starts at the scene from The Great Duel where Antonio finds Jayden on the pier, but with an entirely different conversation. Many thanks to all of you who have followed, given kudos, favorited, and reviewed this story, and I hope you enjoy the ending. See you in the sequel!

He sensed him before he saw him. He knew the Rangers were upset, and that Lauren and Ji were probably disappointed, even if they did understand. He didn't blame any of them, and he wouldn't be surprised if the team was angry that he'd been keeping secrets after everything they'd been through together. Antonio was likely to be upset with him for entirely different reasons, and he didn't blame him for any of that either.

He thought he should be angry somehow, or hurt, or just as upset as the others - the Rangers, were. It was what he'd expected he would be when this day finally came. He had no purpose now, no goal, no destiny. He should be trying to figure out who he was supposed to be without the Red Ranger.

But Antonio was here, and all he wanted to do was smile.

"I've been looking everywhere for you."

He shrugged a shoulder, biting the inside of his cheek to reign in his emotions before he started laughing and scared Antonio into thinking he was mentally unstable. "I took a walk through the city. Figured I'd give you time to cool down a little before you came after me."

There was a long silence as Antonio came to lean against the railing beside him. "I'm angry at you," he said matter-of-factly.

Jayden nodded. "I thought you would be."

Antonio twitched a little. "Why didn't you tell me you were planning to leave?" he demanded abruptly, turning to glare at him. "I know why you kept her a secret, and I still don't like it, but I get that. But why didn't you tell me that her being here meant you would leave?"

It was a fair question, and he sighed quietly as he continued to stare out at the water. "Because I don't have to leave. And I knew if you knew that, you'd try to convince me to stay."

"Of course I - we - want you to stay!" Antonio burst out furiously. There was an odd flicker of light around him. "Why would you leave us if you didn't have to?!"

"Because I *want* to, Antonio. Because ... because I need to," he admitted quietly.

"You don't need to," Antonio snapped. "The only thing you need to do is *stay*, because *we* need you!"

He shook his head. "Lauren is the leader now. You'll still have a strong team to fight the Nighlock. And - " He broke off, blinking hard for a moment "Please don't ask me to stay," he whispered. "I can't ... I can't do it again."

" ... Again?"

The memories surged, faster than he could stop them.

- Aunt Anabelle's eyes remained closed, just like she was sleeping. But her skin was pale and cold. The Rangers had tried, but they were too late.

He stared at her, trying to keep in his own tears as a howl of grief echoed from down the hall. Lauren sniffled behind him, and he turned to bury his face in her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him. -

- His father was crying.

Uncle Victor and Uncle Devon carried him between them. Aunt Kyoko was making soothing noises, trying to press a wet cloth to the blood covering his stomach. Aunt Hannah threw blankets off the closest infirmary bed, even though it hadn't been cleaned yet, stripping it down to a single sheet. "Bring him here!"

"Out of the way, Jayden!" Ji snapped at him, hurrying into the room with an armfull of medical supplies. -

- He held his mother's hand tightly, staring at her face as she wheezed weakly for breath. Maybe if he watched ... maybe ... maybe he could keep her alive. If he wished hard enough, kept watching over her like Daddy had asked him to, maybe he could keep her alive long enough for the Rangers finally defeat the Nighlock.

"Please don't die, Mommy," he whispered. -

- He stayed in the closet like they'd told him to, curled back in the corner behind daddy's clothes as far as he could. He kept his hands pressed tightly over his ears the way Ji told him to, the way Lauren used to do for him before they took her away. But he could still hear the screams outside, still hear weapons being fired and swords clashing.

"Please don't die," he pleaded silently, mouthing the words because Ji had told him to stay quiet. "Please don't die. Please don't die." -

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm *so* sorry - "

The words were a litany in his ear, and it took him a moment to come back to himself. Antonio's arms were around him, holding tight, and his voice was full of tears as he pleaded. "I'm sorry, I didn't think, I *never* think, I'm *so* sorry - "

"It's okay," he forced out. "Antonio, it's okay. I know you didn't - you didn't know."

Neither of them moved for several minutes. Jayden bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood as he fought to regain his composure. Antonio remained wrapped around him, sniffling slightly.

"Sorry," he managed finally, throat hoarse. "I didn't mean for you to see any of that."

Antonio shook his head rapidly, squeezing him again. "It's not your fault. I should have thought more about why you wouldn't want to stay. I should of ... " he trailed off, swallowing audibly, and subtly nuzzled Jayden's cheek.

The gesture reminded him abruptly of why he'd been waiting here, and he shook his head, too. "It's fine," he said firmly, stepping back to smile at Antonio. "No more apologies. This is supposed to be a happy day."

Antonio stared at him blankly. " ... Happy?" he repeated dubiously.

Jayden laughed, shaking his head again.. "Yes. Happy. Today is a wonderful day."

Antonio was starting to look wary now. "Wonderful."

"Yes. I'm no longer needed as the Red Ranger." He smiled, letting the feeling those words brought sweep over him.

Antonio was still staring, and he laughed again at his confusion. He was usually quicker than this. "Antonio." He gave him a pointed look. "I'm no longer needed as Red Ranger."

There was another moment, and he could tell when it finally clicked because Antonio's eyes went incredibly wide. "You mean - "

He nodded, breaking into a grin and reaching for Antonio's hand. "If I remember right," he said thoughtfully, "Didn't you say once that people on KO-35 get married by making promises?"

Antonio visibly swallowed. His eyes were nervous, and his grip tightened on Jayden's hand. "They do." It was barely a whisper.

"You've made so many promises to me ... " He trailed off, frowning a little. What can I possibly promise *you*?

"Jayden."

He looked up to find Antonio staring at him, his eyes sparkling with solemn joy. "I promise to give you my loyalty and support. I promise to keep your secrets, to understand the things you don't say, to grieve with you, to always be honest with you. I promise to give you the impossible, every day, for the rest of our lives." He paused, making sure Jayden was watching, and slowly and deliberately lifted their clasped hands to kiss Jayden's.

Jayden blinked once, hard. "Antonio, I ... "

He took a deep breath. "I promise to give you my loyalty and my support. I promise to put you before anything else in my life. I promise to never keep anything from you again. I promise - " He faltered slightly, and Antonio gave his hand another squeeze. "I promise to have faith in you, in what you can do, and to never doubt you. I promise to build a life together, and ... " He swallowed, pushing back the lingering instinctive surge of fear. "I promise to love you. Forever."

Antonio's eyes shone with warmth. "I promise to love you," he echoed softly. "Forever."

It was the simplest thing in the world to kiss him then.

There were a lot of things still unresolved. The Nighlock had yet to be defeated. There were the Rangers and their families to tell, and Jayden still wasn't sure how Ji and Lauren would react. Antonio would have to return to the team to help them fight, and Jayden would have to find a place to hide until it was all over.

But for now, in this moment, they were together, and everything was perfect.