ONCE UPON A DREAM

Epilogue

It's times like these where I'm thankful.

Thankful for the immature twenty-something that I once was. Who thought the world owed him absolutely everything. Who ran when things got tough and shut everything and everyone out until that feeling consumed him whole. Because if I hadn't been that person, the love of my life wouldn't be lying next to me as I type this, snoozing with our three-year-old little boy wrapped tight in his arms.

Oh, yeah... surprise. We adopted. But that's a story I want to save for another time. If it's any consolation, we named him Gou, after Isshin's late father. Surprisingly enough, he insisted on it. I never thought I'd be someone's dad, but things change.

People do too.

It took a long time for my injuries to heal, and there are days when I can't walk without an aggravating pain shooting up my leg. There are nights when I wake up in a cold sweat and I have to make sure Isshin is there next to me.

He always is.

And then, there are good days. Good days when I can play with my son and make him laugh until tears fall from his eyes. Good days when we're all together and I don't have to worry about any supernatural forces or fires taking me away for the time being.

That doesn't stop me from kissing them both every morning before I leave for work. Or telling them I love them as I'm walking out the door. Because hey, I'm a firefighter. My job isn't the safest. And there's always that small chance that I may not come home. The fire from a few years ago showed me that firsthand.

I take each day as it comes now, and whether it's a good or a bad one—or whether Isshin and I argue or not because we have our good and bad days too—I always say I love you.

Always.

But enough about me, let me fill you in on the good that's happened in the last four years.

Isshin relocated to Buffalo and runs the museum remotely from one of the offices down in the city. Occasionally, I'll stop by and bring him coffee, just like the good old days. Lunch too, if I happen to remember. Lately, he's been working from home to be closer to Gou. He still flies out to Brooklyn regularly to see Rei, but her and Khy have been making more of an effort to come out and see us since their daughter, Rin, isn't so young anymore.

If you were wondering, I never really digested that piece of information fully. Isshin was as happy about it as he always was. His niece (or I should say our niece) is a pretty good kid, though.

Rokuro's band, Heikuro, was a success. They were currently touring Europe and living the rock star life. Whenever he passed through Buffalo, he always stopped by to see us, no matter how packed his schedule was. Gou adores him. I'm pretty sure it's all the piercings and tattoos. To a three-year-old, Rokuro was probably the coolest adult out there.

As if his head couldn't get any bigger (spoiler alert: it did).

Chou and Van tied the knot about a year ago. It was a nice wedding, honestly. Nice enough to make me forget about our beef­—temporarily, at least.

As for Mia, we were still close. Surprisingly enough. After the whole Isshin fiasco, I thought we'd never go back to how we were, but I should have had more faith in her. I'd even saw Aaliyah a few months ago, and surprisingly she hadn't ripped me a new one like I thought she would. I'd take her punching me in the arm any day.

Not so surprisingly, Mia and Abarai started dating about a year ago. According to her, it was going great so far. Abarai gave her all the space she needed to heal, and I think Mia appreciated that more than anything. She deserved someone patient. Someone who wouldn't push her away. Someone who could open up to her and be completely honest, unlike what I put her through. So, you know, I'm happy. I am.

In other news, Mom loves Isshin as if he were a long-lost son. She even started teaching him Spanish, and it was... amusing, to say the least. It was fun seeing Isshin fumble for a change.

Dad, however, is still warming up to the idea. I'm never really found out what Mom said to him, but he's been trying to make up for how things left off between us. He was the one who bought us the house we currently live in, funnily enough. It's a good gesture, but it's going to take a lot more than that for our relationship to improve.

Those are his demons to fight, not mine. I no longer needed his approval to define my worth. I freed myself from shouldering the burden of others, and damn did it feel good. Turns out Blake was right all along.

It was a comic—no—a dream that brought Isshin and I together. At the time when we both needed it most. A time when I lost myself and where Isshin found himself. Watching your partner grow and thrive before your very eyes, was a beautiful thing.

Isshin, my old man, the love of my life and beyond it. I love you more than I can bear.

No matter what happens, no force of nature can take me away from you. Even if we die, I'll still find you in the next lifetime, and the next one after it. It may take me a moment to wake up, and I may run away at first because it might be a lot to take in, but we'll always come back to each other. We always do.

For right now, I'm going to enjoy the life that I have here in front of me. There's no telling what I'll encounter in my next life, and hey, for all I know this could be my last. Whatever. I'm happy. I'm in love. I have the best goddamn kid that anyone could ask for.

But enough with the sap-fest. Let's just cut to the chase, alright?

The name's Sparra Kirahara, and I went through hell and high water to find my place in the world.

And you were there with me, every step of the way.