The house was perched on top of a cliff. As the waves splashed onto the rocky precipice, mists of saltwater filled the room.

Brendan faced the window and closed his eyes. The sea breeze, the constant whiff of brine, and the tranquility—he had missed these in his life at Downtown Boston.

Just then, someone teleported into the room next to him. From what it sounded like, it was not the smoothest teleportation. Furniture toppled over and items crashed onto the ground, while the person stumbled around, hit the wall, and came to a halt.

A wry smile tugged at Brendan's lips. "Hey, Neil," he said without even turning around.

Neil let out a string of curses. "Why the fuck are you here?"

Brendan shrugged. "I found out where you live. It wasn't difficult at all; after so many years, your aesthetics are still the same."

Ever since the day Neil showed up in the QA headquarters, Brendan had been trying to figure out where Neil was living. It turned out that he did not need to look any further than the seaside town he and Neil had grown up in. With minimal furniture propped against raw wooden walls, the house resembled Neil's college surfboard—simple, bare, but cozy. It was unoccupied most of the time and reported to be abandoned, but Brendan could see the opened jars, the freshly made potions, and the well-kept pictures of Cecillia.

A lump formed in Brendan's throat. He should have known that Neil would return to their hometown. He should have known, and he should have stopped Neil from doing this.

"Well, get the fuck out of here then," Neil spat as he wobbled towards a cupboard. Propping himself up with his sword in one hand, he rummaged through the drawer with another, cursing and grimacing.

Brendan cast a glance at Neil. The tall man was bruised and battered, with cuts all over his body that soaked his clothes in blood. It was the worst state Brendan had ever seen him in, and it wrenched at his heart. Averting his gaze, he pulled on a chair and settled himself on it.

"If you're looking for your healing potions, don't bother," Brendan said as he leaned back on the seat. "I went around and took them all away."

"What the—" Neil spun around. "Why would you— What the fuck do you want from me?"

He tried to swing his sword towards Brendan, but he staggered from the weight. He was too beaten, too weak.

"I need you to come with me to the QA."

"Fuck that. Fuck the QA, and fuck you." With a heave, Neil trudged towards another cupboard. "Who the fuck gave you permission to go through my stuff?"

"I need you to come back with me," Brendan repeated. "We've already raided the castle and captured Gazini. It's over for you."

Neil ignored him as he ransacked all the cupboards in the house, crashing through tables and chairs along the way.

"We've found Cecillia's body and took it away too."

That got Neil to stop what he was doing. He slammed the drawer shut and marched towards Brendan.

"You people have no right to take her! No right!" he roared. His raging eyes and disheveled hair made him a caricature of pure mania. "You of all people, you don't even deserve to say her name."

Brendan tried to fix his eyes at the window, at the calm scenery of the ocean, but Neil grabbed his collar and forced him to stare into the hysteria.

"Give her back to me, you fucking bastard!" Neil yelled, shaking Brendan forcefully.

It was deja vu to watch his dear friend break down like this, to be seized in the shirt like this, and be screamed at like this... And it was as agonizing and heartbreaking as that day.

Brendan took a deep breath. He was so close to breaking down and crying, he was so tempted to stop everything and hug his poor friend, but he knew that that would never work. Nothing would. He had to turn his heart into stone.

"Let it go, Neil," Brendan muttered. "Cecillia is gone. She has been for years."

"Shut the hell up! I'm bringing her back!" Neil's deafening voice was trembling as much as his body. "With Gazini's powers, with the people he was going to bring from the other world, with- with everything I've been doing, she's going to be brought back! I'm going to bring her back!"

"Neil, please stop this. She wouldn't want to see you like this—"

"Of course you'd say something like that. You just want her dead. You did nothing as her disease deteriorated. Nothing." Every word that Neil uttered was like a knife through Brendan's heart.

"That's not true. I tried, Neil, I really tried, but there's no cure—"

"There would have been if you didn't tell me to wait," Neil growled. "I will never trust you or the rest of the QA ever again. I waited and waited and waited, only for you bastards to give up, only for Cece's time to run out. You just didn't want to save her, and you stopped me from being able to."

Brendan's expression darkened. "If you're talking about Blood Magic, then that is not a viable solution. You know that. It was not a viable solution then, and it is still not a viable solution now."

"You little shit head." Neil flashed his bloody teeth with a contorted smile. "Anything is a viable solution if it can save her. You just don't love her enough."

"I do, Neil, you know I do," Brendan whispered.

A burst of strained laughter escaped Neil's throat. "Of course you do, how can I forget? You loved her, and then you wanted her dead because she didn't choose you in the end. She chose me because I'm willing to do anything for her!"

That's not why she chose you. Brendan clenched his fists. He wanted to shake his friend awake, but he knew he had to accept this. He had to accept this as much as he had to accept Cecillia's death.

Neil had gone down the deep end.

"You're insane." Reaching into his pocket, Brendan took out a magic suppressor. "You're under arrest, Neil."

"Fuck you!" Neil landed a punch on Brendan's face. "I'll fucking kill you!"

Brendan spat out the blood inside his mouth. "Neil, we don't have to do this..."

But it was too late. Neil had lifted his sword and was swinging it down towards Brendan.

The blade never reached the QA employee. Instead, crimson red splashed across his body.

In front of him, five shards of ice had pierced through Neil's torso. Fog from the icicle floated upwards and danced in the air, while drips of blood trickled downwards and painted the wooden floor.

"Neil, y- you... Why didn't you dodge them?" Tears blurred Brendan's vision; his heart turned as cold as the ice he created.

Neil dropped his sword and staggered backward. His back hit the ledge of the window before tears streamed down his face.

"I just want Cece back, Bren," he mumbled, barely audible against the crashing waves behind him.

"I know," Brendan croaked, "me too."

Neil replied with a smile—finally, a genuine smile—before leaning back over the window sill.

When he heard the splash, Brendan closed his eyes and allowed more tears to flow.

"I'm so sorry, Neil."

♞♗♞♗♞

About twenty years ago...

The brunette swished the puffy skirt around. The floral patterns on the fitted bodice continued down the train of the dress, all the way to the floor.

"Oh, I really love this one!"

"It's the best one so far," Brendan agreed.

"Isn't it?" Cecillia jumped on the spot in excitement, before running over to the man and giving him an unsolicited hug.

"Ow, ow, ow, don't hug me, don't hug me! That material is not fun," Brendan chided as he pushed her away. "I pity Neil when he picks you up during the wedding day. All these dresses are so rough on the skin."

Cecillia giggled. "I can't wait."

"Same." Brendan smiled and tapped her on her nose. "Can't wait to see what kind of ugly suit he and his poor taste picked out."

"You should help him pick one out."

Brendan made sure his groan was as dramatic as he could make it. "I'm already helping you pick your dress, and now I'm needed for Neil's suit too? I should get paid for this."

Cecillia chuckled—and then snorted in the most unseemly manner possible. There was a short pause as they stared at each other before they both bent over and burst into hysterics.

When their laughter died down, so did Cecillia's smile. "You know, I'm sorry, Bren."

Brendan blinked. "Huh? Why are you sorry?"

"I'm not stupid, Bren, you hadn't told me yet, but I know. I- I see the way you look at him." She lowered her head. "I'm sorry for taking him away from you."

Brendan sighed. Cecillia was as observant as ever. His heart clenched, but he forced out a smile.

"Hey, don't be dumb. He loves you, and he's going to be happy with you. And that's all I want for the both of you. Besides,"—he pinched the woman's cheeks—"it's not like we're gonna stop hanging out after you two get married."

The smile crept back up on Cecillia's face. "Not unless we fall in love with our honeymoon destination and never come back."

Brendan shrugged. "Well, I'll just track you down. Easy."

"Ew, stalker."

"What can I say, you and Neil are the only people I hang out with. If you two elope, I'll be so bored, I'll have no choice but to stalk."

"Yeah, right." Cecilia giggled again with an exaggerated eye roll. "Hey, I know it's up to you, but... I think you should come out to him, Bren. He would appreciate that."

Brendan stuffed his hands into his pocket. "I don't know, I don't think I'm ready, Cecil"

"It's okay, I didn't mean to rush you." She raised her eyebrows and smirked. "I just don't want him to ever think that we're having an affair."

Brendan snorted. "You and me? Come on, he's not that stupid."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. He can be very dense sometimes. You know how it was like when he was asking me out."

The memories flashed across Brendan's mind and he had to stifle a laugh.

"Yeah, he was a total idiot. You should be thankful I was there to nudge him along the way. Hey, by the way, do you want to try this one out?" He reached for the dress he had picked out while Cecillia was changing.

Cecillia let out a loud squeal. "Oh my god, this looks so good!" She gave him a quick peck on his cheeks before rushing into the changing room again.

Brendan chuckled as he sat down on the bench. He had tons of work to do, but he was willing to wait all day for Cecillia to pick a dress. After all, no matter how demanding his work would get, as long as he had his two best friends with him, life was good.

As long as he had Neil and Cecillia.