Yongguk was no stranger to pain.  He’d spent a fair amount of time working through it in all its manifestations, physical and mental most of all, but when Luna left his apartment that day, he really didn’t know what to do.  The emotional toll was more than he anticipated.  Honestly, he thought he’d been ready for anything really.  He had expected anger or sadness for sure.  Maybe she would have been happy to know that someone else understood and she wasn’t entirely alone.  He’d been ready for every reaction he could have thought of… except that one.

                It was probably a good thing she’d told him on the weekend since Yongguk didn’t sit down and cry all day, but he did stop functioning on more than a basic level for a little while.  Even when his mother had died, he’d coped better, but Junhong had been younger then and Yongguk had to be the strong one at that time.  Now… as broken as he was, he just didn’t have it in him.

                Yongguk was terrified one of the most wonderful people he’d ever known had just walked out of his life for good.  And he was angry that she had done so at the worst possible time, right when he needed her most.  He was also furious with Kris for being the cause of all of it but then he felt guilty because he hadn’t been able to protect her, which he hated himself for.  A veritable miasma of tension and emotions roiled around him, clouding his senses enough that he didn’t even notice the way Junhong tip-toed around him, hurt and scared by what his brother had become.

                Sleep was a blessing, if only because his pain killers made him numb to the physical pain and kept him from dreaming.  By Sunday morning, Junhong was officially starting to freak out and that more than anything brought Yongguk out of his self-imposed stupor.  He was still bogged down by the emotions that plagued him but he was at least aware, which was a welcome improvement.  Despite the impetus of needing to be at least remotely strong for his brother, Yongguk was well aware if he didn’t find something to distract him, he’d return to the downward spiral he’d spent the other day in so he called on the ever reliable Himchan and Jongup to help.

                It wasn’t as if he could keep him away for long anyway, irritating busybody that he was.  The only reason they hadn’t come by on Saturday was because they’d had errands to run and Junhong said he could take care of it for a while, which would have been true if Luna hadn’t fled like she had.  Neither Yongguk nor Junhong were entirely surprised when Himchan laid into his best friend when he got there and heard about what had happened, more furious at him than sorry for him.

                “So you just let her go and then stopped functioning?!” he demanded, pacing in front of Yongguk while Jongup and Junhong quietly retreated to the latter’s room, shutting the door behind them.  “That’s really effective!” he snarled sarcastically.

                “What was I supposed to do?!” Yongguk growled back, feeling bad enough that he didn’t do just that.  He’d certainly thought about it at the time but hadn’t been able to convince his body to respond enough to do anything.  “Roll after her in this?” he spat, hitting at the armrest with his good hand in irritation.

                “If that’s what it takes!” Himchan snapped at him, giving him a fierce glare before he crossed his arms over his chest.

                “I couldn’t, alright?!” he stated through gritted teeth, dropping his eyes.

                “Why not?  Nothing’s ever stopped you from going after something you wanted before,” Himchan reminded him, kneeling in front of Yongguk as he placed his hand atop the other male’s knees gently, mindful of the casts holding them in place.  Hell, it certainly hadn’t stopped him this time around when they had all known she was with Kris, that he was.

                “She hates me,” he exhaled shakily, tears dripping from his eyes though he didn’t blink, suddenly overwhelmed by fear and self-loathing again.

                “Luna doesn’t hate anybody, Gukkie.  Least of all you,” Himchan shook his head, searching the other male’s face as he looked for a better answer.

                “I told her,” Yongguk mumbled, his bottom lip before chewing on it, swallowing around the lump in his throat.  “About me and Junhong,” he admitted further, finally shifting his gaze to peer at Himchan.

                “Good,” his friend smiled sadly, reaching out to grasp Yongguk’s good hand.

                “No.  She was horrified, Channie.  I saw it in her eyes,” he whispered, tightening his fingers around Himchan’s hand.

                Himchan took a small breath and closed his eyes as he shook his head.  “How did I look when you finally told me in high school?  Or Junhong for that matter when you had to explain about what happened to your mother?”  Yongguk glared at him when Himchan looked back up to meet his gaze but the younger male didn’t flinch or apologize.  “It’s not a nice story, Gukkie.  I’ll bet if you told Uppie, he’d react in a very similar manner.”

                “But she wouldn’t stay, Channie.  I… I begged her not to go,” he admitted with his head hanging low.  There were few times he’d begged for anything and this one hurt more than most of them.

                “Have you tried contacting her?” Himchan asked gently, picking Yongguk’s chin up to see his face better.  Yongguk nodded with a flat expression on his face.  “And?”

                “Her number’s been changed.”

                “Damn,” Himchan frowned, lip curling in irritation.  “Email?”

                “No longer in use.”

                Himchan grumbled under his breath at the answer and exhaled gustily.  “And I don’t suppose you know where her parents live?”  Yongguk shook his head mutely in response.  There had never been any reason for him to know.  “Useless,” Himchan sighed with a sad smile tugging at his mouth.

                “For another week at least,” Yongguk exhaled pitifully, grimacing at the wheelchair and his knees.  He knew he’d been lucky to have the surgery done as early as it was, but he hated being confined for any length of time.  If things looked good after about two weeks, he could graduate to supportive knee braces and have the opportunity to walk around if it didn’t hurt.  Otherwise, he’d be stuck in the damn thing even longer.

                “At least you’ve got insurance though and you said Minseok was already good with you coming back when you were cleared,” Himchan stated, tapping Yongguk’s nose so that the elder male frowned at him and glared.  Yongguk didn’t grace the comment with a response.  “Oh no you don’t.  I’ll have no silent treatment from you while I’m around, Gukkie,” he reminded him firmly, standing up in front of the seated male.

                “Shut up, Channie,” Yongguk groaned with a roll of his eyes.

                “Hah.  As if that’s going to happen,” Himchan snorted derisively, smacking Yongguk on the shoulder with his hand.  “And if I find out that you fall back into that pity-party silence you put Junhongie through yesterday again, I will kick your .”

                “Like you even could,” Yongguk grumbled, lips pursed in irritation, though there was a trace of amusement bubbling within.

                “I think I can actually manage it with you in your current condition,” he laughed with a speculative look over Yongguk’s injured person.

                “That’s just cold…” the elder male huffed, shoulders slumping in defeat.  He knew when he was beat and in truth, he was grateful for Himchan’s lack of pity.  That would have been much worse than the bullying he was doing now.

                “You know you love me,” Himchan winked in a playful manner, patting Yongguk’s shoulder before giving it a supportive squeeze.  “Now.  Why don’t we call Uppie and Junhongie out of the room before I start to get suspicious and we can spend the day eating terrible food and watching horrible movies,” he grinned, pulling off just a bit of aegyo.

                Yongguk groaned good-naturedly at the display but gave a genuine smile in return.  He knew the distraction would only last for so long, but he was willing to go with it for as long as he could.  There was no way he could avoid wallowing in guilt and self-pity for at least a little while but that didn’t mean it would have to be now.  Especially because he knew Himchan would kick his .  Junhong would likely help too.  Maybe even Jongup, though that one was harder to call.

                “Come on you two!  I know you heard me already,” Himchan yelled at the bedroom door with a raised brow.  He smiled knowingly when the door was pulled open and then turned back to Yongguk, “You know my number hasn’t changed, so if you need anything, just pick up the damn phone, ne?”

                “Alright,” Yongguk chuckled resignedly, letting Himchan’s presence dominate the room.  It was easier to take a back seat and just watch, keeping an eye on Junhong when he flung himself down on the recliner.  Jongup fell out on the couch where Himchan would be sitting and Yongguk was relegated to his stupid wheelchair.  God he hated the thing already and he’d only been in it for a week.  It was honestly going to be a long healing process…

                Weekdays were the worst because Junhong had to go to school, but at least he was relatively happy, seeing that he got to take Yongguk’s car since he couldn’t use it or anything.  In the meantime, Yongguk had nothing but time on his hands and not even a sliver of hope that he would see or hear from Luna.  No.  All he had were the memories they had and lately, the bad ones were winning out.  When it got really bad, he called Himchan, just to chase the demons away for a little bit, but even then, he refused to rely on him too much.  Didn’t want to get him in trouble at work or anything.

                Things got a little better when he was finally able to change over to removable braces and could start attempting to get around more.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t ready for the unexpected early fatigue and exhaustion which sent him back into depression again, leading to more than one phone call to Himchan from him or his brother to bully him back into a better mood.

                He took the occasional surprise visit from Minseok or Amber, who sometimes managed to drag Luhan along, in stride.  Since the shoot, the latter two had been getting along rather nicely.  Amber still treated Yongguk just like one of the guys and Luhan wasn’t entirely sure how to act with him outside the stables.  Though, when they got to meet his younger brother, they joked about Junhong being bigger than his ‘big’ brother, to Yongguk’s consternation.

                Minseok was generally more polite and assured him things were going alright in the meantime.  He even brought copies of the pictures Zitao had sent him so they could see how the rest of the shoot had gone.  Yongguk was left rather speechless when Minseok handed him a cropped version of the one Youngjae had found Kris in the background in.  There was nothing of the present anymore and it was just Yongguk and Luna on the back of Wind’s Playmate.  They were… undeniably happy.

                “Thank you,” Yongguk whispered as his throat threatened to close with emotion.

                Minseok rubbed the back of his neck and nodded, “I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do or not but it was such a really good picture.  If there are any of Zitao’s you’d like, I can have a copy…” he trailed off, smiling to himself as he saw Yongguk simply staring at the image in his hand.  “You’ll both be alright,” he assured the younger male, clapping him on the shoulder warmly.

                Yongguk nodded in subdued but mute agreement and wiped unobtrusively at his nose.  “Really.  Thank you, Min.”  It was a great memory to hold onto.  Of her and him.  And he knew he’d be framing it as soon as he got the chance.  No matter what else happened or how things ended up, at least he’d have that.

                “You’re welcome,” Minseok smiled, standing up to leave.  “Just take your time, Yongguk.  We all miss you, but you’ll still have a place when you’re ready.”

                “Thank you, sir.  That means a lot,” Yongguk admitted, finally tearing his gaze from the image to see his boss off.  Junhong smiled slyly in the recliner and didn’t say anything as he continued reading his textbook for school.  “Wanna see some pictures, Junhongie?” Yongguk asked, waving his brother over and laughing quietly to himself when the younger male grinned at the opportunity.  He hadn’t been able to show him yet and it would be nice to walk down that memory lane for a bit.  After all, it had been a good day regardless.

                Physical therapy twice a week helped get Yongguk out of the apartment too, but since he still couldn’t really drive on his own, he had to get someone to take him.  He tried to get appointments after school so Junhong could but that didn’t always work out and Himchan worked during the day.  On the upside, Jongup was still free as he was waiting on a call back from the temp agency he was employed through.

                While he genuinely liked Himchan’s boyfriend, Yongguk wasn’t thrilled about the younger man seeing him so weak and helpless, especially after his sessions, but Jongup never said anything negative about it.  He just smiled and patiently helped Yongguk with whatever he needed assistance with.  After a couple days with the younger male, it wasn’t hard to see why Himchan liked him and how they got along so well.  He was a beautiful balance to the older male’s almost over-the-top presence; difficult to rile and pretty even keel with a fairly predictable smile in place at all times.  It was kind of nice actually.

                In the following week, Yongguk received a package he was not expecting.  When Junhong brought it to him, he blinked at it in confusion but when he opened the box, all he could do was stare at the rich, purple color glaring back at him.  Luna’s riding coat; the one he’d ordered her before the photo shoot.  The sight of it pulled at his heart and he didn’t know whether he should be frustrated it had arrived so late, or at all, or happy that it had finally come, though there was no longer a wearer to give it too.

                He had rather anticipated seeing Luna’s bright smile when she opened it but with the way things stood, that was no longer a possibility.  “Damn,” he sighed, putting it back in the box until he could figure out what he wanted to do with it.  Eventually, he opted to tell Victoria the story and give it to her with the news that he was cleared to go back to the stables, but he was forbidden from any heavy lifting whatsoever and therefore relegated to the main house with Youngjae and Daehyun.

                Junhong was sad he took the car back but Yongguk was more than happy to get out of the apartment on his own.  Granted, getting around in his wheelchair was still a pain but he couldn’t do a lot of walking on his own yet and the walker he used around the house was too embarrassing at the stables.  Bad enough that Daehyun called him ‘hot wheels’ with the chair; he couldn’t imagine what sort of heckling he’d endure if he was caught with the walker.

                Well, there were worse things than being a kitchen aide, even if his inability to use his left hand kept him very limited, and Youngjae had a habit of calling him in to his office to be a second pair of eyes or a steady hand as often as possible.  Minseok and Victoria wouldn’t allow him by himself near the horses for liability reasons.  It wasn’t that they didn’t trust him, but if he got hurt in his current condition because they let him take on something he wasn’t ready for, it wouldn’t be good any which way they looked at it.

                Victoria continued to do the mothering thing, treating him more like her son than the initial flirting distraction he started off as.  To be fair, she treated most of the staff like her children, but she was particularly attentive of those who were sick or injured.  He used it to his advantage and asked her about Luna every day without fail.  She never told him more than, “She’s doing well,” which meant she at least had contact with her and that Luna hadn’t completely cut herself off from everyone here, but it stung he wasn’t included in that connection.

                “Can I speak to her?” Yongguk asked after the second week he’d been back at work.  While he very much enjoyed being back at the stables, even with his restrictions, everything about the place reminded him of Luna and it hurt.  Wind’s Playmate always called her to mind; her picture was on the wall inside in several places, along with the rest of the staff; even the riding ring reminded him of her because of all the times they’d spent in it together, teaching him to ride.

                Victoria sighed heavily and pat his arm with her hand.  “She’ll let you know when she’s ready, Yongguk.”  There wasn’t much else she would ever tell him, but the way she’d watch him on occasion, her expression thoughtful or speculative, tended to give him this weird sense of hope.

                “Will you let her know I miss her?” he asked, resenting the inability to do so himself but hoping all the same she’d get the message.

                “She knows,” Victoria winked before wandering off to find something else to do.

                Invariably, Daehyun would pop up out of nowhere to drag Yongguk’s attention back to something he could help the younger male with.  “Hey hot wheels!  Come give me a hand with lunch,” he practically shouted, leaning out of the kitchen to peer down the hallway.

                “I’m walking today, Dae,” Yongguk grumbled, carefully shuffling back to see what other limited task he could be assigned in the interim.

                Somewhere in that time, he heard about Kris getting out of jail finally, having served his thirty days, but little else.  He would be quite happy if he never ran into Kris Wu again, which he could only hope would remain a reality, though he couldn’t quite help swinging by his place on occasion just to see if he was still there.  Damn.  The bastard hadn’t opted to move.

                He knew there was a restraining order against Kris in regards to Luna, but Yongguk almost ersely wished the might run into him at some point.  There was a lot he wanted to say to him, and to be honest there was a fair bit he’d like to do to him too, but the less contact he had with him, the better.  For everyone, though he’d be a fool if he didn’t at least keep tentative tabs on him.  For all that he was on probation, meeting regularly with his parole officer, and attending anger management classes, to the best of Yongguk’s knowledge, he would never stop believing Kris was dangerous.

                In the meantime, his hand was slow to heal, with an estimated recovery time of eight to ten weeks due to the severity of the break.  Stupid poker.  It had shattered several of the metacarpal bones and the doctors warned he might have some definite loss of movement and use in it when it was healed.  At least it wasn’t his main hand.  Finally, after four excruciatingly long weeks, he was able to get the knee braces removed for good though and return to light work in the stables.  They wouldn’t let him clean but he could at brush the horses out, a task which tired him frequently and earned him all manner of teasing from Amber and Krystal when they were around.

                Someone was always nearby though.  No one left him unattended for any length of time, just in case his knees buckled or he needed help in getting to a place to rest.  It was embarrassing but he understood the necessity.  He was just glad they let him work with the horses again, though the only one they would allow him to take out of the stalls was Prancy.  Good old chap.  Yongguk’s current ability was right up Prancy’s alley and they walked together on a daily basis when the old boy wasn’t already in commission for beginner lessons with someone else.

                Bless the poor creature too, but he listened to all of Yongguk’s complaining without qualm.  He held still when Yongguk tired himself out and needed to rest against something; flicked his ears back and forth when he railed about how sick he was of being tired; snorted in agreement when Yongguk sighed about missing Luna, which he did on a regular basis; and basically let the human hug him when he thought no one was looking.  If tears happened to stain his neck on occasion, no one else was the wiser for it either.  Not a day went by that she didn’t cross his mind and though he was a patient man, over a month of nothing was hard to swallow.

                Thanksgiving came and went, which Yongguk and Junhong spent with Himchan and his family while Jongup headed to his parents’ place instead.  It was a pleasant enough distraction, if short lived, and Yongguk worked over the weekend so he’d have less time to think about who he was really missing.  Monday, Junhong went back to school after the break and Yongguk had the pleasant surprise of the Heavenly Stables getting a card from Luna.  It was addressed to everybody but she had apparently left a few notes for several different people with it.

                Victoria smiled as she handed over the tiny envelope sealed with his name on it.  “Looks like she was thinking about you after all,” she winked, leaving it at that as she walked off, busying herself with something else or other.

                Yongguk was already distracted and busy opening the small letter.  It didn’t have much of anything written on the inside but it was Luna’s flowing handwriting and it was her… saying something to him after nothing but silence.

Dear Yongguk,

I’m sorry for leaving the way I did and I hope you can forgive me.

Sincerely,

Luna

                He flipped it over to search the back for something else and blinked once.  That was it?  Well, it was better than nothing but… there was really nothing else?  He didn’t know whether to be elated about the contact or disappointed that was all she had to say.  There was no number or email address and it was likely there wasn’t an official return address he’d have access to, but it was a message, however brief, from Luna addressed specifically to him.  Finally he let the giddy smile win out and stuffed the message in his back pocket, carrying it with him the rest of the day.  It wasn’t much, but it brightened his week considerably.

                In the beginning of December, it was certainly cold enough that he needed to wear a jacket as he got Prancy ready to head out for a walk.  “You ready boy?” Yongguk asked, patting the warm neck affectionately.  Prancy just heaved a sigh in response and shook his head, which was a typical answer for him and Yongguk laughed.  His bosses were working with Jongdae on planning finances to fund an indoor riding ring but in the meantime, their regular locale would have to do.

                Yongguk liked the chill though and Prancy didn’t seem to mind, so long as neither of them stayed out very long.  His knee strength and flexibility were returning and he was finally getting to the point where fatigue didn’t hound him at all times.  Their walk was relatively short, though his nose got cold enough to turn red by the time they stepped back into the stables, patting Prancy on the shoulder before he removed the halter, letting the blanket stay where it was to keep off the worst of the cold.  He was still slower than usual, but at least he was able to finish up just fine, leaving both of them satisfied as he stepped out of the stall… and froze.

                “Hi.”

                It was her.  Yongguk blinked and rubbed his eyes with his hands, certain he was seeing things from staying in the cold too long.  “H-hi,” he stuttered in response, his voice barely more than a whisper as his gaze took in the sight of Luna standing in the middle of the stables.  Her hair was pulled back into the ponytail like he always remembered but she had pink earmuffs in place to keep her ears warm.  She was probably warmer than him too in her royal purple… riding coat.  The same one he’d bought her before she’d left.  And unless he was mistaken, it was also the one he’d given Victoria…

                “You look good,” she smiled, hands stuffed in the front pockets as she hesitantly took a step towards him, looking him over.

                He nodded dumbly in response, finally managing an unsure smile with a nod towards her, “So do you.”  That was an understatement.  She looked amazing and he hoped he didn’t look half as dumbstruck as he felt by simply seeing her again after a month.

                She glanced down at the coat and laughed once, smoothing her hand over it loosely, letting him see the wrap still in place around her left wrist.  It wasn’t completely healed but it only needed a little support anymore.  “Thank you,” she offered sincerely, looking up to meet his eyes, holding his gaze with brown orbs that virtually sparkled.

                “It suits you,” he laughed, his smile warming up a hair when he got over his initial shock, though his heart continued to beat faster than normal in his .  She was wearing the coat he’d bought her and he could hardly believe this was happening, nor did he know what it meant, but damn it was good to see her in the flesh again.  His throat tightened of its own accord, clogged with too many emotions to name, but most of them were good, if overwhelming.

                “Yongguk,” she murmured, taking another hesitant step closer.  He shivered when he heard his name from her lips and waited breathlessly for her to go on, feeling as if he was rooted in place.  “Did you… get my note?” she asked, the first bit of genuine uncertainty flitting across her face.

                He frowned briefly in thought and then his face lit up as he remembered what she was talking about.  “This note?” he cleared his throat to ask, retrieving it from his back pocket as he took a deep breath and swallowed, trying to keep his emotions in check.

                “You kept it?” she responded in delight, biting her bottom lip with another tentative step towards him.

                “Of course I did,” he assured her immediately, almost hurt she might think otherwise.  It was the only thing of her he’d had a chance to keep and he finally uprooted himself to take his first uncertain step towards her in turn.

                “And?” she asked, only a few feet from him, breath fogging before her in small bursts of air.

                Yongguk had memorized the contents of the note the first day so of course he knew what she was asking about.  He had painstakingly thought about how he might respond on various occasions, trying to formulate the perfect answer that told her how much it had hurt him to see her walk out like that; to not hear anything from her in an entire month, and how he wasn’t sure he wanted to forgive her so easily.  But… seeing her before him, smiling the way she was; it didn’t matter anymore.  He blinked once and gave her a sweet smile, answering in a shaky breath, “There’s nothing to forgive, Luna.”

                It was obvious by her very lack of reaction that she had not expected that answer.  Perhaps like him, she had imagined every other response he could have given her, certain she could predict it.  Maybe she had even prepared counterarguments and responses for those situations, but instead, she took another tentative step towards him, blinking curiously, “Are you sure?”

                She looked so uncertain of herself that he wanted to rush forward and gather her in his arms to hold her close, but she’d pulled away so many times already, he needed for her to make that step.  The last time he offered, she had run away and he couldn’t do that again.  Not now.  It had nearly broken him before so he held his ground and nodded once, waiting to see what she would do, his eyes holding hers intently, searching their depths with a degree of desperation.

                “Why?” she asked in a whisper, taking another step so they were an arm’s length apart.

                He took a shallow breath and answered quietly in a tone filled with a strained note of hope, “Because you came back?”  It was his answer and a question to her; the response to which would make all the difference in the world.

                Luna beamed at him then, tears shimmering in her eyes.  “Yes,” she nodded, stepping forward quickly to cover the last distance between them as she slid her arms around his waist and hugged him tight.  “I’m back.”

                Yongguk exhaled in relief and wrapped his arms around her firmly, holding her close as he felt her warmth against his body, breathed in the scent of her shampooed hair, and reminded himself this wasn’t a dream.  “I missed you,” he admitted in a breathy whisper, having a hard time keeping the tears at bay as his throat threatened to close again.

                “I missed you too,” she mumbled in response, face buried in the fabric of his chest while she sniffled.  “I just needed-”

                “I know,” he cut her off, adjusting his grip so that it was more tender and not so desperate.  Time.  They both had really.

                She shook her head and pulled back just enough to look at him.  “Let me just… say this,” she urged in a tight voice, her bottom lip trembling.  Yongguk swallowed thickly and managed to nod once, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from gathering her close again when she looked so vulnerable.  “I needed-” she paused to her lips and seemed to take courage in the fact that he was willing to listen.  “I needed to find myself again,” she admitted in a shaky breath, voice tight with emotion.  “To know that what I felt… for you… wasn’t just because of-” Luna stopped speaking, unable to continue as she dropped her eyes, hoping he’d understand.

                Yongguk picked one hand up to caress the side of her face, mutely drawing her focus back to his eyes.  “And did you?” he asked, curling his index finger lightly under her chin so that she couldn’t look down again.

                Luna gave him a shaky smile and nodded with tears in her eyes.  “I did,” she admitted, her voice trembling on the admission.  “I did,” she repeated again, retreating back to the haven of his arms as she hugged him tight once more, sniffing with emotion.  “I never meant to hurt you, Yongguk,” she explained softly, tightening her fingers in the back of his coat.

                “And I never meant to let you get hurt,” he explained, closing his eyes as he still felt guilty about that.  His arms tightened around her marginally and he beat the phantoms of that night away with a heavy hand, grateful simply to feel her in his arms once more.

                She sniffed and managed a forced laugh, breaking him out of his thoughts before she stepped back just enough to wipe her teary eyes, smudging her mascara.  “Every time,” she grumbled at herself, trying to keep it from getting worse.

                “You’re still beautiful to me,” he promised, his deep voice rumbling softly between them while he gently held her right hand in his fingers.  She ducked her head while her cheeks flushed in mild embarrassment.  “Luna.  Can we try this again?” he asked quietly, ducking his head to get a better look into her face.

                She smiled and laughed at the question before looking up to him and nodding.  “I would like that.”

                “Me too,” he responded in relief, giving her a gummy grin that she giggled in response to.  “Besides, I think I still owe you a cup of tea, don’t I?”

                “You remembered that?” she asked, clearly surprised.

                “Well, I had a little help,” Yongguk admitted, though he’d cursed Junhong often enough for never letting him live it down.  It looked like he might actually have to thank him now.  Carefully, he threaded his fingers through hers as they turned to head towards the main house.  “So?” he questioned, brows raised in hopeful inquiry.

                “Are you asking me out on a date?” she responded, bottom lip caught between her teeth.

                “Yes I am,” he promised with a sincere smile, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

                “I would love to,” she smiled back, drifting close to lean her head against his shoulder contentedly, wrapping the fingers of her other hand around his arm in a tender hold.

                Yongguk grinned giddily and barely kept himself from giving an awkward laugh as he looked down at the top of her head.  His pace was slow enough he didn’t have to worry about dislodging her and right now, he was just happy she was back.  So maybe they hadn’t been able to pick up where things had left off, but perhaps now, they’d be alright.  He’d waited this long without her by his side, though she’d never been far from his thoughts.  What was a little more time to actually get to know each other?  And really, he was rather looking forward to that part.

(a/n: *takes a deep breath*  Goodness.  This has been a helluva ride.  I hope that you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it.  I find it ironic this was only supposed to be a small diversion: just a little plot bunny that wouldn't go away and then it morphed into this whole other thing I never expected but am... happy about.  Abuse of this nature, however brief it was in the story, isn't something I've really written before so it was another new thing for me.  I'm not sorry either.  New boundaries are always interesting to explore and I tried to make it as belieavable as possible.  Hopefully it's not exactly relatable to many of you but if you felt with the characters while reading along, then I did my job.  ^_^

Just so you know, I am a fan of KrisNa too, though it's just not the way this one ran.  I simply felt Yongguk needed some love lately and I rather liked the way it turned out.  It's possible/probable I'll do some sort of short or oneshot with Luna and Kris to help clear the air between those two (not at all related to this fic mind you), or possibly another bonus one between Luna and Yongguk that is directly related to this fic, but we'll see what happens.  I've always got more ideas than time and that's nothing new.  heh

I just want to thank all of you for joining me on this adventure and if you're so inclined, please feel free to check out any of my other works.  If not, I am always happy to hear what you think or if you have any questions at this point, please send them my way.  I will do my best to answer them if that is the case.  Thank you again to my readers, silent and otherwise, and especially my commenters.  You guys really do help to keep the words coming.  Take care and happy reading!)