Author's Note: My first Nagi no Asukara one-shot. It's unedited so sorry if there are some mistakes. Enjoy!

"Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny."
― Steve Maraboli

Sometimes, the loneliness creeps back. Maybe it's in one of the aisles of Saya-mart, or maybe it's by the pool in the junior high school that Tsumugu helped build for them. Often times, it's when he sees Hikari and Manaka and Tsumugu and Chisaki all together and laughing and smiling, as if they're sharing some sort of inside joke that he's not allowed to take part in.

It's pathetic. He knows it. He knows that he's pining for something that will never be, that it's probably the origin of nearly every angsty TV show or teenage romance novel, but he can't help it. It's pathetic, and he has no control over it.

It's as if he's created a personal, iron-clad law to never reveal how lonely he feels. So he swallows down the sadness and smiles ever so sweetly.

And no one notices. His childhood friends, who had known him since they were all swimming babies together, don't notice that his smiles are lies and his eyes desperately want to close but he forces them open because he has to see this. He has to see what's real and somehow, someday, accept that he can't forever be the fifth wheel that blindly follows along because this is tearing him apart and has to stop.

He's drowning. He pretends that he's mature enough to handle how quickly his friends are moving away from him, easy as breathing underwater, but he's drowning.

He knows it's not entirely their fault. They're just so caught up in the giddiness you get when someone returns your feelings. So they don't see him lingering behind them, and they don't see that he's slowly breaking apart. Of course they wouldn't see his frozen smiles and broken heart. Of course they wouldn't notice anything that's not in their respective lovers' eyes. Of course of course of course of course—

And when he's at the breaking point, when he's about ready to move far away from Shioshishio, far away from the village by the sea, far away so no one can find him, he feels a gentle pressure on his hand. He looks up. And Sayu's always there, waiting, staring with soft concerned eyes, eyes normally hard and blazing, eyes that melt only when they see him.

And he doesn't feel so lonely anymore.

Because someone's waiting for him. Someone will be there for him. Someone will love him.

He knows that he's been waiting for this for a long time. And more than that, he needs this. He needs her because without that reliable presence to tell him he is wanted, he'll never make it another year, another month, another week.

And when he smiles at her – a genuine smile, one that can express his gratitude – and she smiles back – a relieved smile, one that says that she's happy that he's happy – he knows that one day soon, he'll be able to let go. And he won't be lost.

One day, when she squeezes his hand, he'll squeeze hers back. One day, he'll hug her and voice his thanks aloud and tell her how much she means to him. One day, he'll show her off to all his friends and say that she is his most important person, without any trace of regret.

One day.

The future is bright now. Someone's tossed him a life preserver. It buoys him up, it holds him aloft, it lets him see the sun.

Kaname is thankful for everything that's happened now. He accepts the flow of life. He doesn't resist the current. He moves on.