Author's Notes: Hello guys. This is the final chapter of 'A Separate Love.' I enjoyed writing this so much! I want to thank all of my readers for reading this! This has been an amazing writing experience. I have finally finished my first fanfiction I ever started! Also, this final chapter is by Double. Review, enjoy, and cheers! ~ Double and Trouble

Chapter 17: November of 1945; Gene's PoV

On August 15, 1945, Japan had finally surrendered, and the war was over. During that time, I had lost many of my comrades, one of them being one of my closest friends, Brinker Hadley. Many of my squad had been killed over time, and replaced by new pilots. Finally, our barracks was allowed to return home. Home. The word sounds so foreign to me. My real home seems so far away; I hadn't been there since 1942. I was stationed overseas, so I had to take a boat back to America, and then a train home.

The boat ride felt like it took ages. I thought it would never end. The boat reached the port in New York City. There were women everywhere at the port, waiting for their husbands and sons to return home. There's no one there for me of course; my home's in Virginia. I get off of the boat, and make my way to the train station. From here, I have to get a ticket for a train to Harrisburg, then keep making my way home. This'll cost me quite a bit of money. I buy my ticket, and hop on board the train that it is for. I take my seat next to a window. I sit there quietly for a few minutes until someone tries to gain my attention.

"Excuse me?" I hear someone say. I look at them. "Is this seat taken?"

"No, you can sit there if you like," I say.

"Thank you." He takes the seat next to me. He looks to be my age, with short blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. Those eyes...they're very familiar. He looks over at me.

"So, where are you headed?" he asks me.

"To my home in Virginia. You?"

"I have to go meet my family in Philadelphia. They moved from Massachusetts while I was fighting in the war."

"I see," I say. I keep looking at him. He looks so familiar. He seems to notice me looking at him.

"What? Is there something on my face?" he says, rubbing his cheek.

"No," I say. "You just seem very familiar."

He looks at me carefully. "Now that you say it, you look familiar too." His eyes sparkle as he seems to realize something. "Gene?"

My eyes light up. "Finny?"

He smiles widely. "It is you!" He pulls me into an embrace and hugs me tight. I hug him back. Everyone in our train car looks at us strange, so we stop hugging and shake hands instead. After everyone goes back to their own business, Finny smiles widely at me again.

"I can't believe it," he says. "Out of all the seats on this train, I asked to sit next to you. What are the odds, huh?"

"Yeah," I say to him, smiling.

He lays his hand in between us. "I missed you so much," he whispers to me.

I rest my hand on top of his. "I missed you too."

We talked until the train made it to the station. Only then did we realize that we both go on the wrong train.

"God dammit," I say. "We're in New Hampshire, even farther from our homes."

He laughs. "What are the odds of that, huh? We found each other again, and got on the wrong train. Maybe it's fate."

"Yeah, maybe," I say unbelievingly.

"Well, while we're here, we could go see Leper's gravesite. It's by Devon, so it's not a long walk."

"I guess we could," I say, thinking about Brinker. We start to walk from the station.

"Too bad Brinker isn't here," Finny says. "He could go see Leper with us. Speaking of him, how has he been?"

I stay quiet for a moment.

"What? What's wrong?" Finny asks.

"Brinker's been dead for over a year, Finny. His plane got shot down by the Japanese, crashed into the ground and went up in flames. His body got badly burnt; he didn't make it."

Finny falls quiet. "Not Brinker too."

"I watched it all happen. He was a part of my squad."

Finny hugs me tight since no one is around. "I'm sorry, Gene." I hug him back, willing myself not to cry. I never really got over Brinker's death; I never got the chance to.

We continue walking in silence. Since no one is around, Finny slips his hand into mine and holds it. I missed the feeling of his hand in mine. I feel the warm, fuzzy sensation in my chest that I felt when we first fell in love. We walk all the way to Devon, and finally make it to Leper's gravesite. His headstone does not stand alone though.

"Who did they bury by Lep?" Finny questions as we approach the headstones.

The headstone on the left says:

Here Lies Elwin 'Leper' Lepellier

Senior at Devon Boarding School

Born: January 27, 1926

Died: November 16, 1942

The headstone one the right says:

Here Lies Brinker Hadley

U.S. Army Air Force

World War II

Born: October 23, 1925

Died: June 23, 1943

"They...they buried Brinker next to Leper," I say in disbelief.

"This has to be fate," Finny says. "We caught each other on the train, took the wrong train, and ended up coming to Leper's gravesite where him and Brinker are buried together. The world wants us to all be together with our true love, forever." Finny gets down on one knee.

"I don't care if we can't ever get married; that doesn't even matter to me. All I know is, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to live with you, spend everyday with you. And when we grow old, we'll still be there for each other, sitting on the porch in our rockers, watching the dog run around the yard. That, is what I want in my life."

"Finny," I say. He gets up and cuts me off with his lips on mine, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer. I kiss back, wrapping my arms around his neck. My body seems to ache for more at the moment, but I know that I must wait for more. We both release from the kiss.

"Stay with me forever, Gene?" he says hopefully. I smile warmly.

"Of course," I say. He hugs me tight.

"You know, I really do want that moment when we're old though. Maybe, society will appreciate people like us one day, and we can somehow have children and grandchildren. What would you think of that, Gene?" He looks so excited, yet so serious about what he's saying. I can't help but laugh.

"Oh Finny," I say through my laughter. "You were a dreamer from the moment I met you. But your dreamer attitude, that's what I've always loved most about you."

Fin

Author's Notes: Thank you to all my readers for reading this story. It's finally finished after over a year of writing it, and having lots of writer's block. If you liked this story and would like to read more works by me, go to my profile. I mainly write BL and yaoi, so if that's your genre, then go check out my other stories! ~ Double