Zhen couldn't help but smiling as the first hint of spring fell upon her. It came as a warm, dry air from the south. It had been many years since Fon had returned, and Xiang had been long buried under the tree that she had found him huddled against, during a winter that seemed so very long ago.

A small home stood behind her, with one small wooden door and only three rooms; a room for a fire and provisions and two bedrooms. It stood on the same foundation as the one before it had, and had been rebuilt by two people bonded by trust and friendship.

She was seventy-five now. A nice, respectable number she thought, only one quarter of a century left until she was one hundred. Her grey eyes seemed to struggle to open every day, and it became harder to trek with Fon down the hill and back up with the well-drawn water. Her hands would shake at random times, and she sometimes forgot things. Like the soup on the fire, or what vegetable did she need to pick for their stores again? She began to feel it in her bones, though. Zhen realized she wasn't getting any younger, and part of her mind whispered that it was almost her time. Herbs could only do so much when you're sick.

Fon had started to age, but he took no new jobs. It seemed that after the Arcobaleno affair he was content to just live in this humble home, on top of a hill, in the middle of a forest in China.

Zhen didn't cry once through Fon's story. She sat and listened with an open heart and at the end she had hugged him.

"Thank you for telling me, Fon."

And he had smiled, his own arms wrapping around her only-slightly-old body and returning it.

"Thank you for waiting, Zhen." Was his equally soft reply.

And so they had lived for the next twenty years, Fon's eyes were always watching carefully as she failed at jobs that had once been so easy for her, ready to help her with a kind word and smile.

"Zhen." Came Fon's voice from behind, a gentle hand placed on her shoulder.

She turned and looked at him. Even at the age of forty-three, Fon looked young as ever. His eyes still held the same warmth as his smile and his soul. "Yes, Fon?" Her voice was a little raspy today, and tea just hadn't seemed to wash it away.

"Come, please. Sit."

And so she did, looking at him, "Yes?"

"Zhen." He paused, his smile wilting a little as his eyes turned contemplative, "You are sick, yes?"

Her heart palpitated, "No, Fon, I'm simply getting older." She smiled at him, "It's bound to happen, I am seventy-five."

His eyes looked slightly hurt, as they usually did, when he was reminded that he was physically younger than her, and would most likely out-live her, even if he was mentally older, "It pains me, Zhen; that you would lie like this. I am attuned to life around me, and I feel it pulling at my heart every day. You struggle to walk up the hill with me in the morning. You struggle to remember tasks you wish to complete. It pains me to see you like this." His hand drew her closer and pulled her against him, "If you are sick, I will take you to a hospital and—"

And Zhen laughed.

"All things must die, Fon. Like Xiang under the tree, or the fish we catch for food. I would have died many years ago without you. I remember being eight and scared and broken and so very lonely, but you saved me. You gave me many more years of life to enjoy and live. I do not want to go to some hospital where they will simply shut me in a room with a single window to view the world from. I want to be within the world, for the world is my room and there is no window needed there." She wrapped her arms around Fon lightly, "I will not burden you, however. If I have become one, then I will simply wander off, Fon, and live freely, while freeing you so you may do as you please."

Fon's grip tightened just a little and Zhen stopped. She felt him take a deep breath and calmed as she felt the rumble of his voice through his chest, "You have never been a burden, and I wish I hadn't seemed to come off that way. I will care for you, as you cared for this home, for as long as I am able to do so. There is no greater blessing, Zhen. You have brought me immense happiness, and a freedom you do not realize. You gave me a reason to continue on my journey through pain, something to return to, in the end. I always worried that you wouldn't be here when I got back. That something had happened. I... I just want you to get better. That is all."

He pulled away slightly and looked down at her, his gaze passion and warmth, "I love you, Zhen. To what extent I do not know, and I thought of you often while I was away. Part of me wanted you to leave, to continue to live a life not shrouded by my mystery, to live a life free of me and waiting. The other half wanted to be able to see you when I returned, a selfish part that wanted to continue to care for you. For me to be the only one to do so."

And Zhen felt her breath catch as they suddenly seemed to be nose to nose, and she was twenty something all over again, dreaming about Fon coming back and sweeping her off her feet and marrying her, and living out a good life here with children to raise—and it came crashing down when she realized she was seventy-five and not twenty-five and that Fon was fifty years too late.

She pulled back.

And regretted it, seeing a hurt look cross Fon's face.

The only one she had ever loved.

"Fon." She said softly, "I am seventy-five and you…you are physically forty-three. I do not know how long I will live, and I will not allow you to be alone and hurt when I am gone."

And Fon had nothing to say. For nothing he could say would change her mind, he knew. In her years of loneliness, she had become independent and set in her ways. He smiled at her, albeit sadly, before hugging her once more and helping her stand.

"Let us finish today's work. Shall we, Zhen?"

She smiled back, "We shall."

-x-

He started to notice more and more signs of Zhen's failing health.

Her slow manner of speaking, as if she wasn't sure of what she was saying.

The way her hands shook when carrying even the dried herbs.

How she would look at him in confusion before saying his name.

Her eyes seeming to follow an invisible animal before becoming sad, knowing he wasn't there.

How she forgot where the vegetable garden was ("Oh, silly me!" She said)

And how she could barely walk in the mornings.

-x-

It was only a few months later when Fon woke up one morning and went into the fire room, the first one up as always. He stoked the fire as Lichie came from outside and jumped onto his shoulder. His fingers gently stroked Lichie's fur, earning an excited chatter from the monkey. With a little of light on the horizon, Fon set out to gather today's water before Zhen woke up. He wanted to do everything he could to help her, and often tried to get most of the work done before she awoke. A smile crept onto his face as he thought of how irate she was when we did this.

And so he gathered the buckets and walked down the hill, gathering it up, and picked up all four buckets (he continued his training even though he no longer took missions; it made him relaxed along with the meditation he partook in everyday) and went up the hill. Except there was no Zhen to greet him as usual.

He set the buckets down and went inside, towards Zhen's room, "Zhen?"

There was no response so he gently moved aside the curtains, to find an empty bed. His mind was surprisingly calm, as he had been trained to remain calm in almost every situation. He carefully eyed the room and determined no intruder had entered, and the window wasn't big enough for anyone to really fit through, unless they were child sized.

He went outside, knowing Zhen wasn't in the house, and began a small search for her. His small search turned into a couple of hours, and he finally found her down by the stream, her toes stuck in. He smiled, relieved, and reached out to touch her-

"No! Nononono!" Zhen screamed, turning around, twisting and falling into the water. Fon reached out quickly, nearly grasping her hand as she fell from his grasp, and suddenly he was diving in to help pull up a struggling Zhen.

"Zhen! Zhen, it's Fon-"

"F-Fon?" Her voice trembled, grey eyes focusing on his face, and his relief was only temporary as- "Do I know you?"

-x-

It only got worse from there. Fon moved their beds into the fire room to keep an eye on Zhen. She seemed to have good days; her years of routine coming back without a thought, but the bad quickly seemed to outnumber the good.

She would wake screaming at night, eight years old again and helpless and broken. Or she would be fifteen, crying about her feelings of abandonment (they wretched at Fon's heart for he had no idea how much he had affected her.) Sometimes she was twenty and spouting at Fon how happy she was he came back because, yes, she loved him very much (these were nearly as bad, for he had finally realized his own feelings but too late, too late, too late.) And then there was a thirty year old Zhen who was slightly bitter and sad and everything in between.

Fon would talk to her, no matter what. He talked about random events as an Arcobaleno, and his friends (he counted them as friends, regardless of their thoughts. They all knew they'd always be there for each other.) And about his own master growing up (did she know that this was his childhood home, and his master's before him?) His nomadic ventures around the world always seemed to make her smile whether she knew him or not. Every retold story tore at his hearts, but her elation to each story seemed to lessen the pain.

…

"Fon." Zhen's voice was crystal clear as she interrupted his story of Tsuna, who was now Vongola Decimo and well renowned for his kindness in the world. His kindness was healing the mafia, and Tsuna was still only forty and had many years to change the world.

"Yes, Zhen?"

"Can you sit me beneath the sun please? I want to feel the sun."

It was a midsummer day as Fon helped her up (she refused to be carried) and escorted her outside beneath her favorite tree, the one Xiang was under. Lichie climbed down from the branches to settle into Zhen's lap. She smiled and petted him, leaning on Fon who leant on the tree.

"I want to tell you a story," she said. Today was one of her better days, Fon concluded. Her eyes closed against the sun and she seemed to sign in satisfaction as its warmth radiated down onto her body.

"Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She was trapped in a dark castle, held by an evil witch. The young princess knew nothing but pain and darkness. The sun never reached their kingdom and everyone living under the witches reign was turned into a dark beast.

But, in a kingdom far away, there was a prince. He was a fair and kind prince, like his father had taught him to be. His goal in life was to help people and teach them the goodness of the Earth and all things created. The sun always shone in this kingdom, even at night, for the moon reflected the sun's light.

One day, the prince heard of the girl who was trapped and couldn't bear the thought of another being harmed in such a way. He took a horse against his father's orders and rode day and night for a fortnight to get to the evil kingdom.

There were many obstacles in his way, however. Beasts howled and chomped their teeth at him, snarling in the darkness. The prince, however, had a sword that would reflect the sun's infinite light so long as someone believed in good. This sword kept the beasts at bay as they could not stand the light.

His ride through the kingdom was dangerous and long.

He finally came upon the castle and crossed the bridge before getting off his horse and venturing inside. At the top of the stairs through the main hall was a beautiful woman. She had eyes like stars and hair like spun gold. Her mouth had a silver tongue and it was with this that she led the prince down into the deepest parts of the castle.

The beautiful woman tried to talk the sword out of his hands, but it was important, he knew, to keep it. He stepped closer and the woman hissed, and suddenly it was clear to him what had happened. He raced up the stairs into the tallest tower and opened the door of the broken princess.

Her hair was dark brown, nearly black, and her eyes were grey as could be. And he rushed to her and handed her his sword 'take hope' he said, 'I will return, princess, but I must complete a quest to vanquish the evil witch.'

And she waited for many years. One day he returned and freed her, and killed the evil witch once and for all. There was a huge celebration and all in the kingdom were returned to normal. But she was young still, and did not know or understand the feelings she had for the prince."

Fon smiled, his eyes closing at Zhen's peaceful and soothing voice drifting over him. It was a nice story.

"And one day she realized the prince loved her and she loved him, but it was not meant to be; for the last curse from the evil witch was for the prince to age slowly, so the princess would get older and older and he would stay young. Even after he broke the curse with the help of a magical clam, he only aged normally. And now the princess was old and graying. To the princess, it would hurt the prince less if he just never knew of her love for him. So she always pretended and always prayed he would never find out."

Fon was fast asleep, his breathing even.

"And in the end, it hurt her. To know what could have been, and what wasn't. And she regretted that she never got her kiss after the prince had treated her like such a princess."

Zhen let out a sigh and smiled at Fon. She kissed his cheek and he smiled in his sleep.

"Sleep well, Fon."

She closed her eyes, revealing in the warmth of a sun-kissed day.

-x-

Fon woke up, feeling refreshed. Zhen had told such a nice story, and he was glad it was a good day. His mind couldn't remember the ending, and he hoped Zhen would retell the end to him. He felt her body against his and smiled, turning his head slightly. Something was wrong.

"Zhen?" He implored, placing a hand on her arm only to realize it was cold; colder than it should have been on a warm day in midsummer.

"Zhen." His voice was firmer and not at the same time, turning fully. She was smiling, and not moving.

Lichie jumped onto his shoulder.

Fon wasn't sure when the last time he cried was.

-x-

A few days later, local villages reported a giant bonfire on the hill. Did someone still live out there, they wondered? Were they okay?

No one checked.

-x-

Fon wandered for years. He went to visit Reborn and Yuni and Vongola Decimo; even his nephew Hibari. He travelled to see the Aurora borealis in the north, and watch penguins in the south. Lichie went with him.

-x-

It wasn't until he was well into his nineties (which mentally made him well into his one hundreds) that Fon returned to China. Many more buildings had been erected and more people filled the streets. He bypassed the cars and trains and bikes. His journey had a different ending.

Lichie, too, was old. He clung to Fon desperately, weakly. Fon told him only a little long.

He reached the top of a hill, which was still untouched by civilization. He saw an old well on his way up and at the top found little hills of earth that looked to be hiding something, if someone knew what had once been there. Fon stretched and laid down under a familiar tree and sighed, joints cracking in his old age.

Lichie curled up beside him and chattered slowly, before sleep over took him.

Fon looked up and thought he saw grey eyes and brown-black hair.

"Welcome back." He heard, and suddenly he was twenty three again.

"I'm home."

-x-

And the sky wheeled overhead.

-x-

A/N: Aaaaand done. Obviously. This story got more support than I anticipated, what?

I was originally going to leave it as a one chapter ordeal, but I didn't like the ending. It was waaay too open and this wasn't meant to be a happy ending…ick.

I wanted to explore the lives the Arcobaleno had before, during, and after. They probably never went home to family or friends in their baby forms…and well, there aren't any FonOC stories out there... I think this works out rather well considering that their mental age vs physical age upon "re-growing up" would be rather straining on relationships in the past. I don't even think a normal relationship would be possible at this point.

Fon also strikes me as very humble and very caring from the manga. I don't know, what do you guys think?

I might make one for Luce (who is obviously pregnant…) or Mammon (possibly one for both genders as it's never exactly clear…) Verde would be interesting too.

Reborn as well. Colonello and Lal kind of already have a before and after story, and Verde or Skull don't strike me as the friend type. But, we'll see.

Thank you for reading! Please Review, I'd like some feedback. (: