Epilogue

"Is this weird?" Kotoko asked.

Her uneasiness was gradually killing his mood.

"You and me, that is."

Irie looked at her and found her eyes staring back at him.

"It's only weird when you think it is," he said.

She was still unconvinced at the oddness of them together. So she looked away and made a wrinkled line on her forehead.

"You think I'm weird?" she then said. She had suddenly decided that it wasn't their relationship that was odd but her. He could only sigh. "I think I am."

He gripped her hand tighter, reassuring her that she wasn't. It was a pleasant day at the park; no local was nearby to ruin their blissful moment under the large tree. But now he dreaded that their blissful moment would be ruined by her silly doubts.

He looked at her again, and she slowly turned her head, facing him with a straight line on her lips.

"If you're weird then I'm a nutcase for falling in love with you," he said.

Slowly, a smile bloomed on her face. But it didn't last.

"You think I'll be forgiven?"

He arched a brow, unsure of what she meant.

"By whom?"

"By those I hurt. I never really gave them"—them being her friends (and his family) he presumed—"a proper goodbye."

"I won't lie to you. It'll probably take time."

"You think we are doing the right thing?"

She returned to her earlier doubt. She was driving him insane with this turnabout.

"Yes."

And it was the truth. They were nothing like before, always questioning themselves of what they wanted. Now he knew what he wanted, as much as she, and it was her—this person that he came to love all over again who he wanted most.

But there were times, such as these, where she reverted back to her old ways.

"How so?"

"I just know."

He just felt it in him that what they were doing was right; that this second chance of a relationship was the right thing to do. It was like fate brought them together again. Or God himself, or whatever deity out there, wanted them together. It was hard to explain but he just knew that this—this being them—was meant to happen.

She looked toward the cloudless sky, still unsatisfied.

"Is that really the answer you can give me?"

She was draining him of his energy. "What more do you want me to say?"

"That everything will be alright—that we will be alright. That we're not jumping into a relationship because we think it's the right thing to do. What if we are doing everything wrong?"

"We're not," he assured.

"How do you know?" She rolled her head to a side, meeting his eye.

"You would've left me a long time ago," he said.

"But what if—"

He kissed her at that moment, pouring his entire love into one passionate kiss. When he pulled away, she seemed mystified, even breathless.

"All that matters is that I love you and you love me."

She took in his words for a moment and then sighed. "…I just don't want to ruin this spark that we have."

"You won't."

He continued to stare at her even as she looked away.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because everything will be alright—we will be alright."

Kotoko chuckled a little. "Now you're just repeating what I wanted to hear."

"But is that what I'm supposed to do?"

"Yes and no. I just expected to feel reassured fully enough—"

He rolled on top of her and gave her another kiss. As he pulled away, her doubts slowly began to fade. So he moved a piece of her hair away from her eyes and rested his hands against her jawline.

He kissed her one more time, and he saw by the look in her eye that she was happy.

"That's all the reassurance you need," he said.

She genuinely smiled.

Notes: Once again I thank you for finishing this story with me.